The massacre of 13 mine workers highlights how Peru’s mining gangs have developed into criminal behemoths.
The bodies of the 13 security workers were discovered at a mine in Pataz, in the northwestern department of La Libertad, on Sunday, May 4. Eight days prior, an armed gang had attacked the site, which is run by an artisanal miner contracted by the Peruvian mining firm Poderosa, according to a company press release.
Pataz has been under a state of emergency since February 2024 due to the increase in illegal mining-related violence and associated crimes, such as human trafficking. The murders occurred despite the military’s presence in the province.
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President Dina Boluarte named Miguel Rodríguez Díaz, alias “Cuchillo,” the alleged leader of a local mining gang known as the Great Alliance 2 (La Gran Alianza 2) or the New Alliance (La Nueva Alianza) as the prime suspect behind the attack. Cuchillo flew from Lima to Colombia the morning of May 5, according to Colombia’s migration authority. Cuchillo denies responsibility, and there is still no arrest warrant against him.
The day prior to the discovery of the bodies, police rescued 50 miners who had been kidnapped following an attack on another mine in Pataz.
“These are ways of showing their power and saying, ‘I’m in charge here. The state doesn’t even have a say here,’” César Ipenza, a lawyer specialized in environmental affairs, told InSight Crime.
Boluarte responded by ordering a curfew and the suspension of mining activity in the region to “facilitate the installation” of the armed forces and national police.
The security workers account for a third of the 39 direct employees, artisanal miners, and contractors linked to Poderosa who have been murdered in the last three years, the company’s corporate affairs manager Pablo de la Flor told Peruvian news outlet RPP.
InSight Crime Analysis
While mining gangs are often violent, the massacre of more than a dozen armed security workers suggests the group responsible is a formidable force. But these gangs, and the violence they bring, stretch far beyond Pataz or La Libertad, affecting mining areas across Peru.
Skyrocketing gold prices have helped further incentivize illegal mining in Peru, and the riches of illegal mining have allowed gangs to buy off state officials, who offer them protection.
“We have congressmen who represent the interests of miners,” Ipenza said. “We have a multi-party coalition, from different governing parties, from the left and the right, that represent the interests of illegal mining.”
The current president of Peru’s congress, Eduardo Salhuana has faced allegations from civil society organizations Transparencia Perú and Peru’s Illegal Mining Observatory of promoting legislation that limits the fight against illegal mining.
Ipenza criticized modifications to the Law Against Organized Crime that limit the use of tools such as phone tapping or undercover agents for crimes with punishments of five years and up, as they prevent officers from using these in cases against illegal mining-linked offenses such as mercury or fuel trafficking.
Criminal mining groups are often heavily armed and protected by their knowledge of the mines, making it difficult for law enforcement to combat them. However, experts say corruption plays a far larger role in permitting the gangs’ continued impunity than the police’s lack of capacity to directly combat mining gangs.
Víctor Zanabria, the commander-in-chief of Peru’s National Police, was accused of protecting informal miners when he was the regional chief of police in Arequipa in testimony given to prosecutors, Peruvian news program Panorama reported on May 11.
Just as favorable legislation has helped aid mining gangs’ growth, allowing them to purchase greater firepower and pay more gunmen, thus increasing their capacity for bloodshed, protection from law enforcement has emboldened members to believe they can get away with shocking acts of violence. The failure to address corruption will likely mean that installing more soldiers and police officers, the measure Boluarte has opted for in Pataz, will have little long-term impact on reducing illegal mining.
“I don’t know how they are going to control it and if it will be possible to control it,” said Ipenza.
Featured Image: The bodies of security workers discovered at a mine in Pataz, Peru. Credit: Panorama
Monserrat Peters contributed reporting for this article.