Illegal mining in Colombia: an analysis from the point of view of organized crime and the political economy of the conflict

• In Event: Violencia y crimen organizado en Colombia: comparaciones, tendencias, dilemas y perspectivas

Abstract

Organized crime is one of the main threats to international, national and human security. This concept is associated with the existence of illicit economies and practices of the illegal/criminal world, external to the State and to the political order.
In Colombia, after the signing of the Peace Agreements, the illegal mining phenomenon has become relevant. Illegal mining allows a greater contribution of resources to armed groups and when its objective is the extraction of resources to finance criminal activities, it is called criminal mining. This has several implications: first, illegal mining and criminal mining have a strong connection with the financing of armed actors, and their control is necessary for the State. Second, informal or subsistence mining can become controlled by illegal mining, expanding the power of criminal organizations.
This proposal will analyze the implications of illegal mining at this moment (after the signing of the Colombian Peace Agreement in 2016 with the FARC guerrilla), based on concepts derived from organized crime and the political economy of the conflict. This paper considers that illegal mining constitutes a serious obstacle in the building of peace in the regions, affecting the economic and social security of communities. Also presents proposals aimed at controlling the phenomenon of illegal mining in the current context.

Author

• Rosalvina Otálora Cortés