A South American trade bloc ruled Monday that Peru is failing to meet its commitments to curb illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking, siding with Indigenous groups who say their Amazon rivers and food supply are being poisoned.
The decision by the Andean Community — which includes Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia — orders Peru to urgently reform its laws, seize machinery that sucks up river sediment and other mining equipment, and end extensions of a registry for informal miners that critics say shields illegality.
