Puerto Maldonado, Peru— A dispute over an illegal mining site escalated into a deadly clash at 11:00 a.m. on October 30, 2026 in the La Pampa zone of Madre de Dios, leaving at least five miners dead and seven injured in a gun battle between rival groups.
The clash occurred at a gold pit known as Mega 12, an illegal claim inside the buffer zone of the Tambopata Reserve. Two groups, one from Cusco and another from Puno, had been contesting control of the pit for two weeks. Both had brought armed guards. Negotiations mediated by local community leaders failed Thursday.
Witnesses said the shooting started when a backhoe operator from one group began digging into the other’s marked area. Guards opened fire with shotguns and pistols. Miners ran into the jungle. The exchange lasted 20 minutes. Bodies were left near the pit edge.
“It is war for gold. Every week someone brings more guns,” said miner Elmer Quispe, who fled the site. “There is no state there. Only gold and bullets.”
El Comercio reported police and army arrived four hours later due to the remote location and lack of roads. They found five dead, all male miners aged 22 to 41. Two excavators were burned. A camp of plastic tents was riddled with bullet holes. No arrests were made at the scene as most miners had fled.
La Pampa has been a center of illegal gold mining for a decade. The area was cleared in 2019’s Operation Mercury, but miners returned after enforcement ended. An estimated 30,000 illegal miners now work in Madre de Dios, causing deforestation and mercury contamination.
“We have sealed the pit and are identifying the dead,” said Madre de Dios police commander Colonel Luis Cañari. “These groups operate with illegal firearms and fight over claims that have no legal title. We have requested military support to hold the area.”
The regional government said it will request an emergency decree to re-establish a permanent base in La Pampa. Environmental prosecutors said they will file charges for illegal mining and illegal possession of firearms.
Tonight the site remains cordoned off but unguarded overnight due to lack of personnel. The injured are at Santa Rosa Hospital in Puerto Maldonado. The identities of the armed guards who started the shooting are still unknown.
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