Overview

• FEMA led a multi-agency interdiction from October 11–19 that dismantled roughly 20 gold dredges in the upper Nanay near San Juan de Ungurahual, Pucaurco and Alvarenga.
• The operation, supported by the Navy, Army, National Police, Air Force, the Loreto regional government and Sernanp, also destroyed mining camps.
• Authorities seized about 6,500 gallons of diesel, with officials counting 121 full barrels, underscoring the scale of the supply chain sustaining the dredges.
• A September 29 reconnaissance overflight identified clandestine sites after earlier reports documented more than 40 dredges operating along the river.
• Prosecutors detailed a 33‑kilometre fuel‑trafficking route and miners’ use of Starlink connectivity and drones, warned of potential Madre de Dios–level damage, and cited indications of narcotrafficking and foreign armed‑group links that endanger Iquitos’s water and local livelihoods.