Colombian President Marks Position Regarding the Mining Strike

During a press conference held at the end of a meeting of the Security Council on Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the actions that the Public Force will carry out to protect people residing in Antioquia and Cordoba.

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For 12 days, these territories have been the scene of a mining strike, which is accompanied by a roadblock that has made it difficult to supply food and medicine to local communities.

Petro said he is not against small-scale mining but rather against the large illegal mining mafias that are pillaging the territory. For this reason, he invited the Indigenous and artisanal miners to meet him at the government's headquarters, after the situation returns to normal.

The purpose of this dialogue in Bogota is to build the bases of what will be the "Agro-mining District" in the region and agree on the changes that will be introduced in the reform to the Mining Code, which his administration seeks to carry out.

The tweet reads, "Authorities conduct investigations after a complaint about alleged payments to people for them to participate in the mining strike in El Bagre, Antioquia. According to the community, people are being paid between 50,000 and 70,000 pesos, depending on the level of aggressiveness."

Through this process of direct dialogue with the mining organizations, Petro aspires to define what characteristics the agro-mining district will have, what rights small miners will get, and what investments his administration will make to consolidate sustainable activities that do not destroy the Cauca river.

“I am waiting in the Nariño Palace for the mining leaders so that we can jointly study the revitalization of the territory and its democratic recovery,” the Colombian President said.

According to the Colombian authorities, the Gulf Clan, an organization dedicated to drug trafficking, finances economic activities in some rural areas.

President Petro assured that this armed group could be behind the mining strike, which would imply that it does not really aspire to consolidate a peace process.