Organized Crime and the Environmental Gold Rush in South America

South America’s vast mineral wealth has long been a source of significant economic opportunity, yet in recent times it has also become a major driver of profound social and environmental instability. Throughout the continent, organized criminal groups have increasingly turned illegal mining activities—particularly those involving gold—into some of the most lucrative and rapidly expanding environmental crimes globally. This disturbing shift is not only reshaping local and national economies but also causing extensive destruction of fragile ecosystems and fueling widespread violence at a scale that now rivals the infamous narcotics trade.