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Peruvian police locate bodies of security guards allegedly abducted by illegal goldminers

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Wednesday, May 7, 2025

On Sunday, May 4, in Peru's Pataz province in the northern Department of La Libertad region, near one of Peru’s largest gold mines, police has found bodies of thirteen security guards who were kidnapped on Saturday, April 26, allegedly by individuals involved in illegal mining.

The security guards had been employed by private security firm R&R staff, a security company that serves Libmar, an artisanal miner operating on contract with the mining company Poderosa.

On Friday, May 2, the gold mining company, named La Poderosa ("Powerful" in Spanish), stated that it was disappointed that the police were not doing enough to prevent illegal mining. On Saturday, as reported by the local news site Diario Correo, a video, allegedly filmed by the criminals, started circulating on social media, showing the victims being murdered by gunshot at point-blank range. Video of the victims tied up and naked was also reportedly sent to their relatives as a form of ransom prior to their deaths, which was said to have persisted for a week.

Authorities believed that the perpetrators were connected with illegal mining. The victims, who were found "tied up in a pit," were initially dispatched to confront a gang that had ambushed the mine and taken control of it. The attempt to regain control of the mine was unsuccessful, and they were ultimately waylayed and captured, according to BBC.

After the discovery of the victims, the government in Peru levied a curfew on the Pataz province for the late-night hours, and gold mining in the area was suspended for 30 days. President Boluarte stated that there would be an armed military presence throughout the La Poderosa mining area, which he described as taking "full control."

Spokesman Pablo de la Flor criticized the decision to shut down formal mining, arguing “That’s precisely what illegal mines want.”

A state of emergency had been in effect for the region since February 2024, though La Ponderosa stated that these measures were nugatory.

A spokesperson for the company said on May 2: "The spiral of uncontrolled violence in Pataz is occurring despite the declaration of a state of emergency and the presence of a large police contingent which, unfortunately, has not been able to halt the deterioration of security conditions in the area."

The firm stated that the victims had been kidnapped on April 26, and are among several dozen of its employees who had been killed in gang-related violence within the mining area.

Violence related to unlawful mining has been on the rise in the region that the Ponderosa mine is located in, and Luis Guillermo Bringas, a prosecutor in Pataz, called the conflict "a war for mining pits" between mining firms and criminal gangs.

The illegal gold mining industry was worth more than $6 billion in 2024, according to the Peruvian Institute of Economics.

Peru is one of the world's largest gold producers, mining more than 100 tonnes a year - or about 4% of the entire world's annual supply. Reporterd suggested that similar incidents in Peru could potentially deter investors from doing business in the country.


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