Peruvian law students from the Facultad de Derecho, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco are reporting for JURIST on law-related events in and affecting Perú. All of them are from CIED (Centro de Investigación de los Estudiantes de Derecho), a research center in UNSAA’s faculty of law dedicated to spreading legal information and improving legal culture through study and research, promoting critical and reflective debate to contribute to the development of the country. Cintya Rubi Oquendo Escarcena is a law student from UNSAAC and a member of CIED. She files this dispatch from Cusco.

On April 26, in Pataz, La Libertad, Peru, the kidnapping of 13 men was reported. The victims were identified as workers from the artisanal mining company R&R, who were providing services for Minera Poderosa, one of the country’s leading gold mining companies.

A week later, they were found bound, naked, tortured, and executed inside a mine tunnel. Their remains were recovered by a team sent by the mining company, which attributed the crime to illegal miners (informal miners) linked to criminal gangs operating in the area.

This was not the first such incident. In December 2023, the kidnapping and murder of nine workers from the same mining company were also reported. In fact, the province of Pataz had already been declared under a state of emergency (correct term in English) since August 2023, as a measure to combat the high levels of crime and public insecurity.

The incident has captured national attention, as it has exposed the deep criminal network tied to illegal gold mining. This was not an accident or an isolated event—it was a brutal method of trading gold for human lives.

An investigation by Ojo Público into the case revealed:

When someone wants to negotiate a level [an underground mine shaft], they ‘plant’ people [security workers] by contacting parqueros. They say: ‘Give me this amount, and I’ll give you access to that level. I’ll send a few people in, they’re killed, and that’s that.’ But there’s always money involved.

In this system, underground mining shafts are controlled not only through violence but also through economic arrangements that sacrifice workers’ lives as part of the “negotiation” with these parqueros. Thus, gold—a symbol of wealth and development—has become the fuel for a parallel economy dominated by criminal organizations that disregard human life.

According to the Peruvian Institute of Economics (Instituto Peruano de Economía – IPE) (2024), illegal mining in Peru has increased sevenfold over the past 20 years. By the end of 2023, it was estimated that nearly 80 tons of illegally sourced gold were exported—equivalent to approximately 4.833 billion USD. Today, illegal mining accounts for more than 45% of the country’s total gold exports, a shocking increase compared to just 10% two decades ago.

This rapid growth has turned illegal mining into one of the country’s most profitable industries, creating fertile ground for the expansion of organized crime, which sees it as a key opportunity for consolidating power and territorial control.

Adding to this crisis is the leniency of the mining formalization process and the weakening of existing regulations. The recent enactment of Law N° 32213, which extends the deadline for the formalization of small-scale and artisanal mining until June 30, 2025, has prolonged the widespread informality.

The Comprehensive Mining Formalization Registry (REINFO) allows thousands of informal miners — including those with suspended registrations — to continue operating without facing penalties or criminal prosecution. This legal loophole has seriously weakened oversight and control mechanisms, revealing the troubling influence of illegal mining interests within both the executive and legislative branches of government.

The current government has shown a clear disconnect from the country’s reality. Its initial response to the massacre was slow and inadequate, reflecting deep-seated incompetence. Moreover, the lack of effective state control continues to facilitate the expansion of organized crime — not only in areas like Pataz but also in many other regions of the country that remain overlooked and dominated by illegal mining.

What happened in Pataz must be understood as a clear warning of the high price of state indifference in the face of illegal economies that operate with impunity, sustained by informality and fed by corruption.