The Amazon region in Venezuela is plagued by human rights abuses and biodiversity loss. The Venezuelan NGO SOS Orinoco, together with five other organisations working in Amazonian countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru), has produced a report to highlight the impact of illegal gold mining in the Amazon and its ‘devastating’ consequences for human rights and biodiversity.
One of the issues raised in the document is the use of mercury, from how it destroys ecosystems to its effects on health. Although Venezuela is not a producer of mercury, all that is used comes from Mexico, Spain, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, the Netherlands and the United States, despite the fact that its use is legally prohibited.
Between 2013 and 2017, Colombia alone exported more than 76 tonnes to Venezuela, which is why it is so difficult to quantify the actual amount of mercury that enters the country ‘legally’. According to the organisation, ‘a large amount’ of the mercury imported for use in mining is ‘smuggled’ into the country. The use of mercury in artisanal or small-scale mining is estimated to average around 15 tonnes per year. According to the report, ‘it is estimated that between 70% and 90% of the gold leaves the country illegally, in operations involving senior government officials and family members close to the president’.
