Venezuela Deploys Troops to Orinoco Gold Belt as Government Moves to Attract Foreign Mining Investment
Venezuela has deployed troops to target illegal groups controlling key gold deposits in southern Bolívar state, according to local residents and human rights activists, as the government seeks to attract foreign investment to the long-stalled mining sector. Troops were deployed near Las Claritas, one of the main hubs of illegal gold mining in the mineral-rich Orinoco Mining Arc — a vast area near Venezuela’s borders with Guyana and Brazil. The Rio Times
The military bombed and opened fire on illegally controlled mines in the Las Claritas mining region, according to Américo De Grazia, a former local lawmaker. Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications did not respond to a request for comment, and the government has not publicly addressed the operation. deccanherald
What Residents Witnessed
Five residents told Reuters they heard explosions and gunfire, keeping many people off the streets and forcing businesses to close. A 45-year-old resident said bombs and gunfire could be heard in the jungle and that people could not go out. A shopkeeper in Las Claritas said drones flew low overhead for hours during the night. All of the residents declined to be named out of fear for their safety. The Rio Times
Venezuelan news outlet Tal Cual reported that special forces are carrying out operations to evict workers from unlicensed operations in the area. The International Crisis Group, an NGO which monitors conflicts, said it has received numerous reports of military activity in the area. Security forces have effectively sealed off Las Claritas town, while helicopters operate over nearby mining zones, according to analyst Bram Ebus. IJCRT
Rights group Provea said in a post on X that the Venezuelan army was deploying a massive operation in Las Cristinas and at Km 88 in Bolívar state. “We warn of the risk of extrajudicial executions and arbitrary detentions against the civilian population in the area,” Provea said. The Rio Times
The human toll of the operation cannot be verified. VOZ reported unconfirmed accounts of injuries and deaths linked to actions at the Brisas del Kuyuni concession in Las Claritas, but cautioned these remain unverified. The mining areas of Bolívar state are practically inaccessible, and the little that is known comes from locals and workers who risk their safety by speaking out. Venezuelanalysis
Criminal Structures That Control the Area
Las Claritas and the surrounding area have long been dominated by criminal organisations that control access to gold deposits and enforce their rules with violence. One of the most powerful groups is a so-called Sistema led by alias “Juancho,” which exercises de facto control over mining operations, according to Bram Ebus. Global Witness
The region attracts thousands of Venezuelans seeking income amid the country’s prolonged economic crisis, including teachers, doctors and other professionals who have turned to informal gold mining to support their families, Ebus said. Global Witness
Ebus has said there is no way to enter the sector without confronting armed actors willing to use local populations as human shields, or extort foreign corporations, and that financing terrorist organisations becomes a plausible risk for any company involved. U.S. News & World Report
The Investment Context
The Las Claritas deployment follows other military operations in Bolívar state. In May, state forces reinforced their presence in Los Pijiguaos, home to the country’s main bauxite mining operations, following reports of activity by Colombian guerrilla factions, according to De Grazia. IJCRT
The military action follows a concentrated push by Caracas to present Venezuela’s mining sector as open for business. The Venezuelan National Assembly unanimously approved a new mining law on April 10, 2026, replacing a nearly three-decade-old framework. The 130-article legislation expands incentives for foreign and private companies to extract gold and strategic minerals and is part of acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s broader effort to offer legal guarantees and a more flexible tax regime to international investors, particularly from the United States. deccanherald
The Trump administration has supported Rodríguez’s moves to attract investors, and in March the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license authorising certain transactions involving Venezuelan-origin gold, following a two-day visit to Caracas by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who arrived with more than two dozen American mining and minerals companies. EconoTimes
Swiss commodities trader Trafigura is already working with Venezuela’s state gold miner Minerven on a responsible sourcing programme announced last month, saying the work is in compliance with a U.S. Treasury licence. Trafigura representatives have noted that U.S. customs will be very strict on what they allow through and that assurances are needed that any gold imports are free from human rights and labour violations. newsonairU.S. News & World Report
Regional and Global Impact
The military offensive directly addresses a contradiction that has shadowed the investment push: while the Rodríguez regime negotiates in Caracas to open the gold and precious metals sector to U.S. firms, the territory where those minerals are extracted has remained under the de facto control of criminal structures — with what analysts describe as historical complicity from elements of the armed forces and the regime. ChiniMandi
An engineer who previously worked for Minerven told Reuters that for real investment to take place it is essential to resolve supply-chain transparency, security — because the zone is a hot zone with armed groups present — and oversight of the socio-environmental impact of operations. newsonair
Venezuela’s Orinoco Mining Arc contains significant reserves of gold, iron, bauxite, and coltan, as well as unconfirmed rare earth deposits. Control of these resources carries direct implications for the United States’ stated goal of securing alternative critical mineral supply chains outside of Chinese dominance.
Background
Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s acting president since January 3, 2026, following a U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro. In 100 days, she rewrote both the Hydrocarbons Law and the Mining Law to open Venezuela’s resource sectors to foreign investment, and secured the lifting of U.S. Treasury OFAC sanctions on the Central Bank, three state-owned banks, and herself personally. Venezuelan criminal organisations known as sistemas have dominated illegal mining in Bolívar state for over a decade, emerging from within the prison system or evolving from trade unions in the construction sector. Several competing sistemas, including Tren de Guayana, Organización R, and the Las Claritas Sindicato, control different municipalities across the region. Approximately 500,000 workers are involved in illegal mining operations in the region, many of them from local indigenous communities who have been coerced into working through threats of violence or economic necessity. U.S. News & World Report + 2
What Happens Next
Local authorities have not commented on whether anyone has been killed or injured, or whether direct clashes have taken place between security forces and the criminal organisations controlling the area. The Venezuelan government has not publicly acknowledged the operation, and no casualty figures have been independently confirmed. Whether the military can hold cleared territory — and whether foreign companies will proceed with investment once the security situation is addressed — will be the critical test of the Rodriguez government’s strategy. Mining companies including Hartree, Peabody Energy, Ivanhoe, and TechMet were named in local press as having participated in the Burgum delegation to Caracas but did not respond to Reuters’ questions. newsonair
