Creating a buzz: How satellite imagery brought awareness to deforestation and illegal mining in a National Park
An article by The SOS Orinoco Team
Illicit Business
Read about how illicit business has thrived under the Maduro Regime in Southern Venezuela
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US Government plans more sanctions targeting Venezuelan gold exports
As the Maduro Regime attempts to maneuver around sanctions that are limiting its ability to produce revenues via PDVSA, they are trying to ramp up gold, diamond and coltan production, circumvent the Central Bank of Venezuela by smuggling these conflict minerals through Colombia, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao and lately direct flights to Turkey, in order to export the minerals directly to Turkey and Iran.
Video clip of Arria-Formula Meeting of the Security Council Formula on Gold Rush in Venezuela
On September 10, 2018, briefer Marshall Billingslea, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, U.S. Department of the Treasury made a presentation at an informal Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council that focused on the pervasive corruption in Venezuela that has led to instability and a humanitarian crisis, a key aspect of which is the current Gold Rush that is devastating the environment and indigenous peoples.
New videos of the devastation inside Yapacana National Park, Amazonas, Venezuela
Thanks to cooperation with Radiant Earth Foundation, SOSOrinoco got access to and analysis of recent (2018) open data from the European Union Sentinel 2 satellites and access and analysis of high resolution images of Yapacana National Park, courtesy of satellite image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company, that reveal the accelerated pace of devastation and deforestation due to illegal mining inside the park.
“Scars” left by illegal mining controlled by the Farc in Amazonas
Look at the scars left by #illegalmining – prohibited by Decree No. 269 (1989) but allowed by @NicolasMaduro & controlled by the #FARC – that destroy the #Yanomami‘s environment and threaten their livelihood.
Illegal mining in Yapacana National Park, Amazonas, Venezuela
Recent satellite images (May 2018 reveal and confirm the location of the illegal mining site Maraya inside YAPAKANA National Park in Amazonas State (Venezuela) where any type of mining is forbidden in the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela. Criminal illegal mining in this state is not only allowed but exploited by the Venezuelan Armed Forces, in particular by the regional command REDI Guayana.
Sanctioned Diosdado Cabello is responsible for illicit activities and loss of national sovereignty South of the Orinoco River
El gobierno de Estados Unidos sancionó a #DiosdadoCabello @ConElMazoDando y su camarilla por “narcotrafico, lavado de dinero, peculado y otras actividades corruptas”. Habría que agregarle permitir la minería ilegal y la pérdida de soberanía en Bolívar y Amazonas. #sosorinoco pic.twitter.com/P60GlEidXK — SOS Orinoco (@SOSOrinoco) May 19, 2018