The Trump administration’s renewed focus on tapping into Venezuela’s rich mineral resources is raising alarms about potential risks, an expert on illicit economies cautioned following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
In the wake of Maduro’s arrest by U.S. military forces in Caracas, officials from the Trump administration have underscored their interest in the South American nation’s valuable mineral assets.
Speaking to reporters on January 4, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized, “Venezuela has an abundance of critical minerals and a storied mining tradition that’s been neglected,” during a press briefing on Air Force One with President Donald Trump.
Lutnick added that President Trump is committed to revitalizing this sector “for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.”
As discussions continue about gaining access to Venezuela’s mineral wealth, experts warn of the potential for increased violence and criminal activity. An image of this complex scenario was captured by Maxine Wallace for The Washington Post via Getty Images.
“With significant deposits of gold, critical minerals, and rare earth elements, Venezuela’s mining resources are undoubtedly on Trump’s agenda,” remarked Bram Ebus to Fox News Digital, highlighting the potential geopolitical and economic implications.
“But this illicit economy involves extreme violence,” he said, before describing abuses that include forced labor, criminal control of mining zones and punishments such as “hands being cut off for theft.”
Ebus cautioned that without strict safeguards, transparency and security, Trump’s efforts to tap Venezuela’s mineral wealth could entangle the U.S. in criminal networks.
“The sector is already dominated by transnational crime syndicates, deeply implicated in human rights abuses, and intertwined with Chinese corporate interests,” Ebus, the founder of Amazon Underworld, a research collective covering organized crime, said. “If corporations or foreign private security firms were to become directly involved in mining in Venezuela’s Amazon region, the situation could deteriorate rapidly and violently.”
Trump’s efforts to tap into Venezuela’s mineral wealth could come with unwanted consequences, Ebus warns. (Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Despite the renewed focus on oil and mineral wealth, “when it comes to mining, the situation is more complex than oil,” Ebus added. “The illicit extraction of gold, tungsten, tantalum, and rare earth elements is largely controlled by Colombian guerrilla organizations, often working in collaboration with corrupt Venezuelan state security forces. Much of this output currently ends up in China.”
Ebus also described dire conditions inside mining zones. “Mining districts are effectively run by criminal governance,” he explained. “Armed groups decide who can enter or leave an area, tax legal and illegal economic activity, and enforce their own form of justice.” He also described how “punishments for breaking rules can include expulsion, beatings, torture or death.”
Colombian guerrillas and corrupt Venezuelan forces dominate mining through violence and human rights abuses, Ebus warns. (Magda Gibelli/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have documented summary executions, decapitations, and severe physical mutilation, such as hands being cut off for theft,” he added. “Sexual exploitation, forced labor, and torture are widespread with crimes not limited to non-state actors.”
He also noted that “Venezuelan state forces, including the army, National Guard, and intelligence services are deeply involved and work in direct collaboration with organized crime groups.”
Ebus described how Colombia’s largest guerrilla organizations, including the ELN and factions such as the Segunda Marquetalia, along with Venezuelan organized crime groups operating locally – or “sistemas” – dominate illegal mining operations, noting that “there are at least five major ‘sindicatos’ operating across Bolívar state alone.”
“Together, all these actors make up the core criminal panorama of Venezuela’s mining sector,” Ebus added.
In 2016, Maduro established the Orinoco Mining Arc, a 111,843-square-kilometer zone rich in gold, diamonds, coltan and other minerals.
The area has since become synonymous with illicit mining and corrupt officials.
In 2019, the U.S. sanctioned Venezuelan gold exports with at least 86% of the country’s gold reportedly being produced illegally and often controlled by criminal gangs.
However, from a U.S. perspective, Ebus said, the objective behind critical minerals could be limiting China’s access.
“With gold prices expected to peak around 2026, access to gold represents a major benefit for national economies and government investment stability,” he said. “Beyond gold, controlling critical mineral supply chains offers enormous geopolitical leverage for the U.S., especially if it allows it to deny access to China.”
