On Wednesday, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) Commander Gen. Domingo Hernandez announced that over 500 soldiers are traveling to the Alto Orinoco region to continue the operation against illegal mining.
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The FANB soldiers will go to the western edge of the Yapacana National Park "to fight for territorial integrity and national sovereignty and against criminal groups destroying nature," he said, adding that "environmental protection is everyone's task and a constitutional duty and right".
The Bolivarian soldiers continue to evacuate illegal miners from the Yapacana area, dismantle illegal facilities, and destroy environmentally damaging equipment.
Eight months ago, the FANB began Operation Autana, which allowed the eviction of thousands of illegal miners from this protected natural zone, which located on the border with Colombia and Brazil. Those who left there voluntarily were relocated to other states.
So far, the FANB has detected 40 mining camps and evacuated over 8,000 people who voluntarily withdrew from the area, as reported by TeleSur correspondent Madelein Garcia.
Illegal mining has caused irreversible damage to Amazon ecosystems due to the use of mercury to extract gold and other minerals. Another form of illegal mining consists of using artisan rafts that inject mercury to suck minerals from the riverbed.
In an operation to fly over the Atabapo river, FANB troops detected 11 of these boats in less than a nautical mile. After being detected, these vessels fled to Colombian territory, where irregular armed groups offer them protection.