By Glorimar Fernández.
Venezuelan Pemon natives from Santo Domingo de Turasen in the Gran Sabana raised their voice against the installation of an office of the Venezuelan Mining Corporation (CVM) in this area, which would allow the extraction of minerals in Canaima National Park.
The pronouncement was published on August 30th, after several meetings of all the indigenous captains who agreed to unite to stop the eventual installation of this office in Santa Elena de Uairen.
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The gold mining near its ancestral lands began in 2016 when Maduro opened 12% of Venezuela’s territory to gold mining. They say they were never consulting before the mining endeavors began, as environmental laws mandate.
In the document, which has been supported and shared by different organizations such as human rights NGO Provea, they assure that with the installation of that office, they are seeking to promote and formalize mining activities in protected areas.
In September 2019, El Pitazo published that Pemon indigenous people warned about the alleged military presence in Mount Roraima. They were carrying the materials necessary for mining expeditions.
In December last year, this media outlet published photographs and videos sent by indigenous Pemon people about the arrival of Russian military personnel in Canaima, who was wearing the uniform of the National Armed Forces. That day they met with general captains after tapping their cell phones. On the same date, the foreign military installed a radar in the town of Luepa.
