The Amazon basin, where Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador converge, faces a severe security crisis. Transnational organized crime operates in 54 of the 75 border towns in this region, representing an alarming 72 percent of the areas bordering these countries, research from Peruvian investigative journalism news site OjoPúblico and other Latin American media outlets indicated.
These criminal networks are highly diversified, engaging in drug trafficking, illegal mining, and other interconnected illicit businesses. “What we are seeing in border areas are crime hubs where activities such as coca cultivation, illegal mining, and drug trafficking feed off each other,” criminologist Bram Ebus, co-director of the Amazon Underworld project and consultant for the International Crisis Group think tank, told Diálogo. “Drug money is laundered through mining or gold acquisition, which is easily legalized through fake businesses. These funds enter the licit market.”
Fragmentation fuels criminal strategy
The fragmented nature of the Amazonian borders provides a significant strategic advantage for organized crime groups. Reports, such as Drug Trafficking in Indigenous Territories of the Peruvian Amazon, of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali, the Institute for the Common Good of Peru, and Amazon Watch, confirm that these networks operate through dynamic corridors spanning multiple borders.
“When there are operations on one side, criminals easily cross to the other side to remain outside the law. They even move heavy machinery on the Puré River, from Colombia to Brazil,” Ebus noted. “It is in these peripheral areas where organized crime has its nest, where they meet and multiply.”
Regional cooperation
To curb the spread of organized crime, countries in the Amazon region are increasingly prioritizing cooperation. This collaborative approach is proving crucial in strengthening the actions of their security forces.
For instance, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, has established a dedicated cooperation mechanism. In June, public security ministers from ACTO member states agreed on this framework to prevent, investigate, and prosecute transnational crimes. This represents the first permanent scenario with a specific mandate for coordinated crime-fighting in the region.
ACTO Secretary General Martín Von Hildebrand emphasized the urgency, stating, “Crime in the Amazon knows no borders; it flows like rivers, hides and mutates like the forest. Today, transnational rimes such as drug trafficking, illegal mining, species trafficking, criminal deforestation, money laundering, and human trafficking are coordinated with an efficiency that contrasts with the fragmentation of our responses.”
The United States also supports these efforts by facilitating cooperation and strengthening regional security forces. For example, in June, the DEA assisted the Brazilian Federal Police, the Portuguese Judicial Police, and the Spanish National Police in intercepting a semi-submersible vessel transporting drugs to Europe.
U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored Combined Operations and Rotation Exercise (CORE), an annual exercise between the United States and Brazil, serves as an example of bilateral collaboration in the region. The training enhances interoperability between both armies in the Amazon through joint jungle patrol, air assault, and river navigation exercises.
Joint operations and technological advancement
Joint operations are a cornerstone of this regional strategy. In June, the Colombian and Brazilian armies, for example, successfully dismantled eight gold mining and drug trafficking gangs operating along the Puré River borders. This action significantly weakened the finances of the Comandos de Frontera armed group, projected to lose some $25 million annually.
“They managed to burn at least 70 mining dredges, which is a resounding result and the fruit of cooperation between law enforcement forces from two countries in a border area,” Ebus said.
Brazil has also demonstrated the effectiveness of combined territorial intelligence with advanced technology. One operation carried out in March, led by the Brazilian Air Force and the 9th Naval District Command, successfully identified potential logistics points for illicit drug storage and distribution.
In another launched in May, over 20 state agencies monitored 3.2 million hectares in the Kayapó indigenous territory, heavily impacted by illegal mining. They used the Nauru 500-C tactical drone, created by the Amazon Protection System Management and Operations Center, agency of the Ministry of Defense. According to the Brazilian government, the drone optimizes ground missions with real-time tracking, a significant advantage in areas lacking roads where river transport is dominant.
The Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), a project of nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, further exemplifies the integration of science and technology. Their satellite and monitoring tools provide accurate and rapid information to identify illegal mining patterns and inform decision-making.
Ultimately, shared intelligence, coordinated responses, and multinational monitoring, supported by broader international cooperation, are indispensable for securing the Amazon, Ebus concluded.
