Venezuela and its conflict mines are open for business

Opinion

Venezuela and its conflict mines are open for business

by Bram Ebus

(VIDEO) Critical Minerals: The Future for the Amazon Community of Chorrobocón?

Article

(VIDEO) Critical Minerals: The Future for the Amazon Community of Chorrobocón?

by Amazon Underworld

(VIDEO) How critical minerals are fueling conflict in the Amazon

Article

(VIDEO) How critical minerals are fueling conflict in the Amazon

by Amazon Underworld

SPECIAL

JOURNALISM

Venezuela y sus minas de conflicto están open for business

Venezuela and its conflict mines are open for business

Bram Ebus

Minería en Chorrobocón

(VIDEO) Critical Minerals: The Future for the Amazon Community of Chorrobocón?

Amazon Underworld

(VIDEO) How critical minerals are fueling conflict in the Amazon

(VIDEO) How critical minerals are fueling conflict in the Amazon

Amazon Underworld

Between China, the United States and the ELN: The Geopolitical Scramble for Venezuela Smells Like Plunder

Arianna de Sousa-García, Bram Ebus

Stateless and Lawless: After Two Years of Noboa, Armed Groups Control Ecuador’s Amazon

Stateless and Lawless: After Two Years of Noboa, Armed Groups Control Ecuador’s Amazon

Diego Cazar Baquero

U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific intensify trafficking through Amazon routes

U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific intensify trafficking through Amazon routes

Bram Ebus, Sinar Alvarado, Jeanneth Valdivieso

The Blue Gold Rush

The Blue Gold Rush

Amazon Underworld

Chorrobocón’s Gamble: Betting on Critical Minerals

Chorrobocón’s Gamble: Betting on Critical Minerals

Amazon Underworld

Minastyc, a Unicorn on the Orinoco

Minastyc, a Unicorn on the Orinoco

Amazon Underworld

Invasion, Violence and Plunder in Southern Venezuela: The Price of Global Defense and ‘Clean Technology’

Invasion, Violence and Plunder in Southern Venezuela: The Price of Global Defense and ‘Clean Technology’

Amazon Underworld

Illegal Minerals: The Business That Slips Through the State’s Cracks

Illegal Minerals: The Business That Slips Through the State’s Cracks

Amazon Underworld

The Critical Minerals Trade: The Illegal Route Connecting the Amazon with China

The Critical Minerals Trade: The Illegal Route Connecting the Amazon with China

Amazon Underworld

When Gold Rules: Politicians and Criminals Fight Over Resources in the Peruvian Amazon

When Gold Rules: Politicians and Criminals Fight Over Resources in the Peruvian Amazon

Pamela Huerta

Amazon under attack: mapping crime throughout world’s largest rainforest

Amazon under attack: mapping crime throughout world’s largest rainforest

Amazon Underworld

Crime bleeds the Amazon and invades our homes

Crime bleeds the Amazon and invades our homes

Alessandra Korap Munduruku

The State of coca

The State of coca

Bram Ebus

Everything for Gold: migration and violence on the Río Negro

Everything for Gold: migration and violence on the Río Negro

Sinar Alvarado

FARC dissidents extend control to Venezuela’s far east

FARC dissidents extend control to Venezuela’s far east

Amazon Underworld, Armando Info

Forest On the Run: Timber Trafficking Devouring Bolivian Forests

Forest On the Run: Timber Trafficking Devouring Bolivian Forests

Eduardo Franco Berton, Erika Bayá, Soledad Gutiérrez

Amazon Underworld is back

Amazon Underworld is back

Bram Ebus, Juan Torres

INTERACTIVE MAP

PRESENCE OF ORGANIZED CRIME
AND ARMED GROUPS IN 2025

By gathering new data and analyzing complex networks,
we expose the forces driving conflict and environmental destruction.

OUR VIDEOS

Critical Minerals: The Future for the Amazon Community of Chorrobocón?

Critical Minerals: The Future for the Amazon Community of Chorrobocón?

How critical minerals are fueling violence in the Amazon

How critical minerals are fueling violence in the Amazon

Madre de Dios, land of gold and corruption

Madre de Dios, land of gold and corruption

Estado de Coca

Where gold is worth more than life

Where gold is worth more than life

Dredges: the murky gold business in the Amazon

Dredges: the murky gold business in the Amazon

Dragas: el turbio negocio del oro en la Amazonía

Dragas: el turbio negocio del oro en la Amazonía

POLICY PAPERS

The Price of Progress: The Dark Side of Amazon Critical Minerals

The global clean energy transition, increased defense budgets and technological advancement, has created unprecedented demand for rare earth elements and critical minerals essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and defense systems. Yet the Amazon rainforest—home to significant deposits of these materials—is becoming a battleground where the resources needed for a sustainable future are extracted through operations controlled by armed groups, involving systematic human rights abuses and environmental devastation.

Amazon under attack: mapping crime throughout world’s largest rainforest

New research by Amazon Underworld indicates that at least 67% of a total of 987 Amazon municipalities in six main countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) face the presence of criminal networks and armed groups. No presence or information was found in the remainder.

ILLICIT ECONOMIES AND ARMED CONTROL IN THE TRI-BORDER REGION OF COLOMBIA, ECUADOR AND PERU

How armed groups such as Comandos de la Frontera, FARC dissidents, Los Choneros and Los Lobos control the region.

ABOUT AMAZON UNDERWORLD

A COLLABORATIVE MEDIA ALLIANCE WITH AN ADVOCACY PILLAR, DEDICATED TO IN-DEPTH JOURNALISM ON CROSS-BORDER CRIME TRENDS AND THEIR SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE AMAZON.

We work with local partners in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela to foster regional cooperation among investigative journalists and researchers.

Our focus includes mapping the presence of organized crime, quantifying its effects, and amplifying the human stories behind these issues, while also examining the broader impact on local communities and ecosystems.