Thread by @BramEbus

1/ Recent sanctions relaxation in Venezuela, including state-owned gold mining company Minerven, raises concerns about human rights abuses in southern mining districts.

Thread on sanctions & gold⛏️🧵



(More about sanctions relief and the Barbados deal👇)crisisgroup.org/latin-america-…

2/ When OFAC imposed 2019 sanctions on Venezuela's gold sector, we warned gold flows would go underground, managed by criminal networks, including U.S. Treasury-listed terrorist groups.

crisisgroup.org/latin-america-…

@OECD @ICGlatam @CrisisGroup 3/ The 2019 sanctions did not change the panorama in Venezuela's gold mining regions, on the contrary, as illicit gold production likely rose.

@OECD @ICGlatam @CrisisGroup 4/ Sanctions relief for Minerven may reroute some gold to state-run mining and the National Bank, but criminal gold trafficking will persist.

@OECD @ICGlatam @CrisisGroup 5/ We have observed that law enforcement crackdowns in mining areas, with an environmental protection excuse, have tried to regain control over some of the gold production areas, where the army hopes to replace criminal elements, but this doesn't make it legal mining.

@OECD @ICGlatam @CrisisGroup 6/ Why isn't mining legal in Venezuela?

This is due to inadequate consultation with indigenous groups, operations occurring outside of designated areas and within environmentally protected zones, and the involvement of non-state armed groups, etc.

wilsoncenter.org/publication/ex…

@OECD @ICGlatam @CrisisGroup 7/ Prior to the 2019 sanctions, gold sourced from mines run by non-state armed groups, in environmentally protected areas and plagued by human rights abuses was a common practice.

There is no reason why this would be different now.

crisisgroup.org/latin-america-…

8/ European and North American buyers may shun Minerven-sourced gold due to reputational damage, but they never backed away from Venezuelan gold laundered into legal supply chains in neighbouring countries in the first place.

smugglersparadise.infoamazonia.org

9/ That said, there has always been a market for dirty gold, not only in the Middle East and Asia, but also in the Western Hemisphere.

mneguidelines.oecd.org//gold-flows-fr…

10/ To truly enhance environmental and human rights standards in Venezuela's south, we need environmental protection, sustainable alternative economies, and conflict mitigation. Realistic quick fixes aren't on the horizon and this issue requires a long-term strategy.