Artisanal miners’ protests in Colombia hacked by looters

The artisanal miners say authorities tend to persecute them and destroy the machinery they use to extract gold from nearby deposits.

The ongoing blockades, however, have been hacked by third parties who not only have looted cargo trucks passing by, but have also caused damages to the vehicles and, in some cases, hurt the drivers.

The Freight Forwarders Association also told local media that economic losses caused by these incidents add up to over $20 million, as out of the 350,000 tons of products transported by the intercepted trucks, 2,000 tons of perishable and 1,000 tons of non-perishable products were lost. 

Following the looting, the association that gathers artisanal miners in Cáceres issued a statement condemning the violence and distancing themselves from the riotous actions.