William Acosta for Poder & Dinero and FinGurú
Introduction
El Dorado, in the Sifontes municipality of Bolívar state, is one of the main epicenters of gold mining in Venezuela. The region, whose name evokes the legendary city of gold, is today, unfortunately, territory of mineral wealth, but also of the spiritual and physical poverty that accompanies violence, corruption, and environmental devastation. The dispute for control of the El Dorado gold mines and the Orinoco Mining Arc is, as journalist Mariana Lando describes, “a war between bands of criminals, military personnel, and high-ranking officials of the regime.” Two of those high-ranking government members who are part of the golden circle are Diosdado Cabello and Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, alias “Nicolasito.” It is worth mentioning that the state's security apparatus is also part of this dispute. Diosdado and “Nicolasito” are central figures in the network of corruption and organized crime that supports the Venezuelan government (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Human Rights Watch, 2025; U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019).
The Orinoco Mining Arc: A plundering project
The Orinoco Mining Arc (AMO), created by presidential decree in 2016, covers more than 111,000 km² in Bolívar state, which is 12% of the national territory. Although it was officially presented as a plan to diversify the economy and organize mining, in practice it has served to increase environmental devastation, corruption, crime, the displacement of indigenous and peasant communities, and the violation of fundamental rights (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Human Rights Watch, 2020; United Nations, 2022).
The AMO was executed without prior consultation with the National Assembly or the communities that would be affected, without studies of the environmental impacts that the initiative could generate, and without carrying out the required consultation processes with the indigenous peoples that would have been affected. All of this has caused not only the opacity of the program and misinformation about the true damage it may have caused and the magnitude of this damage but also the appearance of a program that is actually not benefiting the communities that are directly affected (Human Rights Watch, 2020; Transparencia Venezuela, 2025).
Structure of power and criminal control
Mining in El Dorado and the AMO is controlled by a network of "pranes," who are ex-convicts that are now criminal bosses. These pranes, along with megabands such as the Tren de Aragua and armed organizations that control the area, act in alliance with civilian and military officials, who are the ones really in charge of the territory (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Human Rights Watch, 2020).
The main pran controlling the situation calls himself “Fabio” (in reality, Fabio Enrique González Isaza, an ex-inmate who now leads a group of pranes), who has connections with high-ranking officials of the regime. These actors parcel out the territory in which they operate, which is a vast open-pit mine; and within the mine, they grant permits to miners and mill owners, who are the ones that process the ore, on the condition that they pay them “quotas” (which can range from five to twenty dollars a month) and that they do not get into trouble with the law (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025).
Illegal mining in Venezuela, instead of being combated, has been de facto legalized. The State has bought part of the production but uses companies that have the appearance of legality; the same goes for the bulk of the gold, which is mined illegally but in some cases is reported as legal mining. Essentially, the irregularity in exports is facilitated by networks of corruption and front companies, which involve officials and private individuals (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025).
Control of illegal mining: pranes, military personnel, and officials
This is how they control illegal mining in Venezuela: uniformed personnel and pranes. Criminal organizations similar to those found in prisons or in state companies maintain dominance over the extraction and exploitation of gold.
Miners and Artisans
People from the area or foreigners work under the direct control of the “pranes,” “unions,” or “bases.” The pranes operate with long guns and grenades, and all miners and merchants report to them. Miners must hand over 30% of the gold they extract to the pranes; merchants, 10% for allowing them to operate in the mine. Additionally, the pranes sell cash to the miners with a markup of 100% over the nominal value of the bill and set the selling price of the gold. The illegal exploitation of gold continues under this scheme of extortion and violence.
High and Medium-Ranking Military Personnel
Small contingents of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) and the Army monitor mining areas to “protect” certain mines, the business, and the pranes. In theory, these groups should ensure and provide protection to the mines and their surroundings. However, in practice, the government not only allows the pranes and their groups to control the mines but also shares the profits with them. The weapons used by the pranes come from the Army and the GNB. The government, through the military, controls services in the area and the transgressors.
High-Ranking Military Personnel and High Government Officials
The generals in command of garrisons in the region take the largest share of gold and share it with high-ranking government officials. The State receives only a small portion of gold, which is neither enough nor fair for the miners, who work under the threat of death if they do not deliver what is demanded. Legally, miners are part of the chain of illegality, but the main responsibility lies with the authorities who allow and benefit from the system. Can the government use the word “government” better so as not to make gold a fearsome instrument of death and illicit enrichment for those in power and those who should govern? (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Human Rights Watch, 2020; U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019).
The role of Diosdado Cabello and Nicolasito in the corruption network
Key positions in the structure of corruption and organized crime that controls Venezuelan gold mining are occupied by Diosdado Cabello and Nicolás Maduro Guerra (“Nicolasito”). Their involvement in the extraction and smuggling of gold, as well as in the management of violence and the illicit economy that sustains the regime, has been widely documented in several investigations and has even led to international sanctions against them (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019; Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Wikipedia, 2024).
Cabello and Nicolasito operate through pranes and criminal bosses who control the mines and extort the workers. Nicolasito has been linked to the control of coltan and blue gold mines, while Cabello maintains under his orbit bosses such as “Fabio” in El Dorado, who act as intermediaries between the State and the armed gangs (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019).
Additionally, the U.S. government has pointed out Cabello as one of the leaders of the “Cartel of the Suns,” a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking, smuggling, and illegal mining exploitation, which uses its political and military influence to launder money and illegally export minerals (El País, 2015; Wikipedia, 2024).
Militarization, front companies, and state complicity
A key element in the control model of the Orinoco Mining Arc is militarization. The forces of the FANB, DGCIM, and Sebin guarantee territorial dominance, the gold routes, and the repression of any action that attempts to denounce or resist mining control (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019).
Corruption was refined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a substantial part of the gold that is extracted is exported through companies that pretend to be legal. Many of these companies are linked to military personnel and foreign partners, primarily from China (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025).
Social, labor, and environmental impact
Mining has caused unparalleled environmental damage, leading to the destruction of more than 100,000 hectares of fertile soil; contamination of rivers with mercury and cyanide; and the forced relocation of indigenous and peasant communities within the country. Miners work under inhumane conditions; they labor up to 14 hours a day, without proper equipment, in relative safety conditions, and without labor rights that favor them (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; United Nations, 2022; Human Rights Watch, 2020).
Indigenous communities have suffered the consequences of the AMO, which was applied in their territory without prior consultation and without due compensation, and in this regard, there is a clear breach of the Constitution and international treaties that guarantee rights to indigenous peoples (Human Rights Watch, 2020; United Nations, 2022).
International sanctions and complaints
The international community has responded with sanctions directed at high-ranking officials and operators of the regime. This includes Cabello and Nicolasito, of course. They have frozen assets and restricted the mobility of these figures in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and other countries. However, the corruption and violence of these individuals, and of those who assist them, continue to generate wealth for a criminal and political elite harmful to the interests and health, both financial and physical, of the local communities, which are always the first to feel the impact of the decisions made by criminals and the corrupt (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2019; Transparencia Venezuela, 2025).
Conclusion
The paradigm of plunder, corruption, and violence in Venezuela is represented by El Dorado and the Orinoco Mining Arc. Prospecting, exploration, exploitation, transportation, marketing, and control of gold in the Orinoco Mining Arc are in the hands of a network of pranes, megabands, military personnel, and high government officials, such as Diosdado Cabello and his son Nicolasito, who benefit from the greatest bonanza that has ever been recorded. Of course, the consequences of all this disorder have been calamitous: there is no gold worth anything because the regime itself has made its price synonymous with disaster (Transparencia Venezuela, 2025; Human Rights Watch, 2020).
References
• Human Rights Watch. (2020). Venezuela: Violent abuses in illegal gold mines. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2020/02/04/venezuela-violentos-abusos-en-minas-de-oro-ilegales
• Human Rights Watch. (2025). World Report 2025: Venezuela. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/venezuela
• United Nations. (2022). U.N. report cites atrocities for Venezuelans in mining area (July 27). Retrieved from https://ge.usembassy.gov/u-n-report-cites-atrocities-for-venezuelans-in-mining-area-july-27/
• Transparencia Venezuela. (2025). Gold exploitation in Venezuela 2024: devastation, chaos, and corruption. Retrieved from https://transparenciave.org/economias-ilicitas/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Explotacion-de-oro-en-Venezuela-2024.-Transparencia-Venezuela-en-el-exilio.pdf
• U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2019). Treasury Sanctions Nicolas Maduro’s Son for Serving in Venezuela’s Illegitimate Regime. Retrieved from https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm719
• Wikipedia. (2024). Cartel of the Suns. Retrieved from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1rtel_de_los_Soles
• El País. (2015). Venezuelan assembly speaker denies drug-trafficking allegations. Retrieved from https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/05/20/inenglish/1432123581_819422.html
About the Author:
William L. Acosta graduated Magna Cum Laude from PWU and Alliance University. He is a retired New York police officer and the founder and CEO of Equalizer Private Investigations & Security Services Inc., a licensed agency in New York and Florida with international reach.
Since 1999, he has led investigations into narcotics, homicides, and missing persons cases, as well as participating in criminal defense at both the state and federal levels. An expert in international and multijurisdictional cases, he has coordinated operations in North America, Europe, and Latin America.
Comments