‘Cuchillo’ (Knife) accused of organised crime, aggravated kidnapping and murder over homicide of 13 miners.
Police have arrested the principle suspect within the kidnapping and homicide in early Might of 13 gold miners in Peru.
Miguel Antonio Rodriguez Diaz, additionally identified by the alias “Cuchillo” (Knife), was detained within the Colombian metropolis of Medellin on Thursday, the Ministry of the Inside in Lima stated.
The murders in early Might put the highlight on rising violence provoked by a gold rush in Peru’s northern Pataz district. The burned our bodies of 13 lacking gold miners had been recovered after being reported as kidnapped by unlawful miners allied with prison armed teams.
Diaz was detained in a joint operation by the Peruvian Nationwide Police, Interpol and the Colombian Nationwide Police, the Peruvian ministry said. He’s accused of “organised crime, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated murder” and on account of be extradited again to Peru.
Colombia’s police chief, Carlos Triana, wrote on X that the seize of Diaz was with the assist of the US Homeland Safety Investigations company, which is chargeable for investigating transnational prison gangs.
The suspect’s lawyer, Kevin Diaz, informed native radio station RPP that his shopper had been in Venezuela for “a number of days” earlier than returning to Colombia, the place he was arrested.
Wave of violence
The wave of violence sparked by the gold rush in Pataz has led the federal government to ascertain a navy facility within the space.
Mining firm La Poderosa, which owns the mine the place the murders passed off, claimed earlier this month that almost 40 folks, together with contractors and miners, have been lately killed within the district by prison gangs.
The menace is of nationwide significance. As one in every of Latin America’s greatest gold producers, mining is a key financial avenue in Peru.
Nonetheless, with the monetary success of the market, unlawful mining has taken off. The follow includes more cash than drug trafficking, amounting to $3bn-4bn per yr, in keeping with the federal government.
That has helped carry an unprecedented wave of gang violence, with a number of areas of the nation below a state of emergency.
