A new extraction frontier is taking shape in southern Venezuela. In the borderlands of Bolívar and Amazonas states, armed groups are turning the global demand for critical minerals into a lucrative criminal enterprise.
Once dominated by gold, the region’s informal mining sector has expanded to include coltan, cassiterite (tin), and rare earth elements, which are materials essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defence technologies.
These minerals now link Venezuela’s Amazon basin to global supply chains under conditions that blend organised crime, corruption, and state tolerance.
Criminal control and economic diversification
Armed groups, including factions of the ELN, FARC dissidents, and local militias, control much of the extraction. They impose taxes, manage transport routes, and regulate access to mining areas. For these actors, minerals are one more stream in a diversified portfolio that includes drug trafficking, fuel smuggling, and kidnapping.
The result is a profit-driven ecosystem operating without ideological motives. In practice, control of a mine or airstrip equates to control of the local economy. These networks have developed semi-stable governance structures, using violence selectively to maintain order and revenue.
Weak state presence and environmental collapse
The Venezuelan state remains largely absent from these territories. Elements of the military and local government are reportedly complicit, collecting payments or granting informal concessions. This allows criminal actors to operate with relative impunity.
Environmental destruction is widespread. Deforestation, contaminated rivers, and mercury pollution are altering one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. The ecological impact, however, is secondary to the economic driver: unregulated extraction feeding international markets.
Geopolitical drivers
Global market conditions are intensifying the trend. China’s export restrictions on certain rare earths and rising Western demand for diversified sources have created incentives to source from new regions — including Venezuela.
Material extracted in the Amazon often crosses into Colombia or the Caribbean before export. Once blended or refined, tracing the origin becomes nearly impossible. These minerals can therefore re-enter legitimate supply chains unnoticed, creating compliance and reputational exposure for downstream industries.
Implications for corporates
The convergence of criminal control, state complicity, and global demand presents several operational and strategic risks:
Supply chain opacity: Minerals from these regions are entering international markets under false or incomplete origin documentation.
ESG and due diligence exposure: EU and U.S. regulatory frameworks increasingly require traceability for critical minerals. Companies relying on complex supplier networks may be unable to verify compliance.
Security and stability: Any formal investment or logistical engagement in southern Venezuela faces high exposure to extortion, theft, and human rights violations.
Reputational risk: Association with forced labour or Indigenous displacement can damage brand credibility and investor confidence.
Strategic considerations
For corporations in technology, energy, and manufacturing, Venezuela’s mining frontier represents a latent risk zone rather than an immediate sourcing opportunity. The combination of weak governance, armed control, and geopolitical demand suggests this area will remain unstable for the foreseeable future.
Companies should prioritise:
Enhanced supplier verification across Latin American and Caribbean intermediaries handling critical minerals.
Continuous intelligence monitoring of emerging trade routes linked to Venezuelan ore.
Scenario planning for possible regulatory tightening on mineral traceability and conflict-linked sourcing.