Deadly New Year’s Eve Attack Targets Informal Miners in Peru’s Pataz District

At least three people were killed in a New Year’s Eve attack on informal miners in Peru’s northern Pataz district, according to local authorities and mining company Poderosa. The company said its security team reached the site after hearing gunfire and discovered three bodies, adding that the victims had likely entered the area illegally to extract materials. While Pataz Mayor Aldo Marino initially claimed police had reported seven people missing, Poderosa said authorities later confirmed that no one had been kidnapped or unaccounted for.

Local prosecutors said they recovered 11 shell casings from the scene and launched an investigation, while police reportedly arrested two individuals linked to the incident. Marino warned that the death toll could be higher based on accounts from people in the surrounding area, though police have not publicly confirmed details of the attack and government officials were unavailable for comment. The incident marks the latest in a series of violent confrontations involving small-scale and informal gold miners in the Andean region.

Pataz has become Peru’s leading gold-producing zone, driven largely by artisanal and informal mining operations working under temporary REINFO permits — a system frequently exploited by illegal miners and criminal groups. Despite recent government efforts to tighten oversight, authorities estimate that around 40% of Peru’s gold exports — valued at $15.5 billion in 2024 — originate from illegal activity. The district has seen growing violence tied to territorial disputes, including the killing of 13 miners in May last year as gangs sought to expand their control.

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