Crime organizations take over the Amazon - and the tribes turn to the UN for help

Criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, and deforestation are threatening indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest. Community leaders will participate in the UN conference in Vienna and demand an international agreement against environmental crime.

Criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, and deforestation are threatening indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest in South America. Community leaders warn that armed groups are taking over territories, polluting rivers, and threatening the lives of residents. More than a dozen representatives from Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador will participate in the UN conference on combating transnational organized crime in Vienna, and will demand the advancement of a new international agreement against environmental crime and granting indigenous communities a more significant role in protecting their lands. According to the organization Global Witness, at least 105 land and environmental activists were murdered in Latin America in 2025. Community leaders argue that military operations are insufficient and demand that the funding sources of the organizations also be targeted.