Article author:
Reuters
Puerto Ordaz — Venezuelan indigenous leaders who were opponents of armed groups and illegal mining were shot dead in the Amazonas capital on Thursday, said three people with knowledge of non-governmental organizations and the incident.
Virgilio Trujillo Arana, a 38-year-old indigenous Uwottuja man, has set up a community group to act as a defender of the Amazon in Venezuela and a guardian of the Outana municipality of Amazonas.
"In life, Trujillo Alana strongly opposed the existence of foreign groups and the exploitation of illegal mining in the territory of the Uwotuja indigenous peoples of the Altguayapo region," said the indigenous rights NGO A. CKapeKape writes on Twitter.
The Uwottuja community is made up of about 15,000 people.
Non-governmental organizations and UN reports condemned the existence of violent criminal groups controlling gold mines in the jungle.
The Ministry of Communications and Information and the Public Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In February last year, the Uwottuja town community defended their territory from "quiet aggression" by criminal groups and refused to use land for illegal mining exploitation and illegal activities. Announced the decision to do.
Since 1989, mining in southern Venezuela's State of Amazonas has been banned. The state is not part of the so-called Arco Minero, an 111,000 square kilometer gold exploitation zone created by President Nicolas Maduro's government in 2016 by Decree. ..
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urges the government to carry out mining activities on a regular basis and ensure that they are carried out under international and environmental standards. Did. (Report by Maria Ramirez of Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, Report by Daisy Buitrago of Caracas, Written by Isabel Woodford, Edited by Angus Maxwan)
