MiningWatch has long supported communities in Latin America who are protecting their lands and livelihoods from the harmful impacts of Canadian mining. Across the board, we’re seeing environmental defenders who speak out against these projects be hit with trumped-up criminal charges in an effort to intimidate them and silence their opposition. Threats and attacks against communities are continuing. Canadian mining companies are continuing to sue Latin American governments for exorbitant sums when denied mining permits, at the same time as governments are gutting environmental legislation and making sweeping reforms to allow for more Canadian mining investment in the region.
At the same time, we’re also witnessing powerful protest movements as communities organize in impressive and creative ways to protect their water, exert their Indigenous rights, and protect their sovereignty for this generation and those to come. Below is a snapshot of some of the key mining-related issues coming out of Latin America and some of the ways MiningWatch is supporting. Please stay tuned in the coming weeks for more ways to take action.
P.S. For 25 years, MiningWatch has stood alongside mining-affected communities as they defend their territories. You can help keep our work sustainable! Please consider making a donation today.
Solidarity with Activists in Penco, Chile
Alongside more than 100 Chilean, Canadian, and other international organizations and coalitions, MiningWatch added our name this week to an open letter in solidarity with two environmental defenders currently being harassed by a Canadian rare earths mining company in southern Chile.
Aclara Resources is attempting to permit its open-pit rare earths mine near the city of Penco, in a biodiverse region home to several endangered trees and culturally significant to the Mapuche people. The company has filed a court injunction against the defenders with the goal of preventing them from circulating information on social media about the company’s proposed project and “affecting its reputation.” This type of court injunction has largely been used as a strategy to suppress the free expression of environmental defenders and others engaged in public education when critical of mining and other resource extraction projects. While Aclara pitches its project as essential to meet the mineral demands for the energy transition, Penco residents point to the widespread use of rare earths in weapons manufacturing and are organizing to get the area recognized as a protected park. Read more here.
Chubut Environmental Defenders Sentenced in Argentina
Ripples are being felt across Argentinian civil society following last week’s conviction of six environmental defenders from the south-central province of Chubut who participated in the 2021 Chubutazo – a powerful province-wide protest that succeeded in derailing government attempts to overturn legislation to allow for industrial mining in parts of the province. Eight defenders in total were standing trial on a mix of charges including theft and arson, and while two were acquitted, the remainder were sentenced to between one and six years in prison. The community is also reeling from the news that one of the eight lost his life by suicide the day before the verdict announcing his acquittal. Neighbours and community members are expressing their devastation and enormous outrage at the loss of this young person’s life, and have taken to the streets to demand justice.
The trial was widely denounced as a political stunt meant to dampen organizing efforts as the province seeks to attract more mining investment and advance exploration projects held up by existing environmental legislation – including the $1-billion Navidad silver project, owned by Canada’s Pan American Silver. Defense lawyers stressed that the charges were never substantiated by evidence and the sentences sought by the prosecution were disproportionate to the alleged crimes. The trial was also characterized by a lack of transparency, denying the public and the media regular access to the hearings. Read more about the trial and the concerning trend of criminalization in our latest blog, staying tuned for further actions as the environmental defenders appeal the ruling.
Protests Continue in Panama as First Quantum Eyes Reopening its Cobre Panama Copper Mine
Panamanians took to the streets once more in March, protesting pending negotiations between their government and First Quantum Minerals that could reopen the Canadian-owned Cobre Panama mine. The open-pit copper mine, located in Panama’s rainforest and in the heart of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, has been suspended since December 2023 following two months of nation-wide protests against the project and a Supreme Court ruling which found the operating contract was unconstitutional.
While the 2023 suspension was a powerful win for Panamanian civil society, it came at a cost. Protestors were met with excessive use of force by police and military, over 1200 people were arbitrarily detained, and many faced acts of criminalization. Almost immediately, First Quantum filed a USD $20-billion lawsuit against the Panamanian government through international arbitration.
MiningWatch staff traveled to Panama earlier this year to meet with partners, mining-affected communities, and representatives from civil society organized through the coalition Panama Vale Más Sin Minería, to strengthen our strategic advocacy and help build bridges with other Latin American communities facing similar situations – where transnational mining companies use exorbitant lawsuits to bully governments into approving projects against the will of their citizens. Since then, First Quantum has provisionally dropped its lawsuit, as a precondition by Panama’s Mulino government to kickstart negotiations with an eye towards potentially resuming mining activities. Join us on May 7, one day before First Quantum Minerals’ annual shareholder meeting, to hear from Panamanian organizations about these latest threats and why they remain firm in their calls for a safe and definitive closure.
Negotiations Wrap Up on the Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement
In January, Canada announced it had finalized negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Ecuador – a controversial deal negotiated largely behind closed doors, absent consultation with Indigenous communities in Ecuador or other representatives from civil society. Months earlier, MiningWatch supported a tour of Ecuadorian Indigenous women and rights defenders to Canada, amplifying their warnings that a trade deal will dramatically increase the amount of Canadian mining investment in Ecuador, further prioritizing investor interests at a time when communities impacted by existing Canadian mining projects are facing renewed violence and criminalization.
The final agreement includes an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, in violation of Ecuador’s constitution and the results of a 2024 popular referendum upholding the country’s ban. ISDS is widely seen as an archaic trade practice that allows private companies to sue foreign governments for millions – or even billions – of dollars when denied things like mining permits. A dramatic policy shift is unlikely, with Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa re-elected in April's national election and the Canadian government focused on expanding trade beyond the United States. However, MiningWatch is echoing the call by several Canadian unions urging the Canadian government to reconsider the deal and instead, prioritize the protection of human rights, environmental sustainability, and the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Megadiverse Water-Producing Páramo Granted Temporary Protected Status in Colombia
For several years, MiningWatch has supported the Comité para la Defensa del Agua y Páramo de Santurbán in their calls to protect the Santurbán páramo or high-altitude wetland from mining in Colombia, as these ecosystems play a key role maintaining biodiversity due to their unique capacity to absorb and store water. In 2022, the Canadian mining company Aris Gold Corporation became the operator of the Soto Norte project, a proposed gold project currently at the centre of a local struggle around environmental protections. While Aris Gold advocates for the páramo to be stripped of protections to allow for mining to advance, a court importantly declared in March 2025 the western side of the páramo a temporary renewable natural resource reserve, suspending the Soto Norte license for two years.
While celebrating this important victory, the Comité is clear that the underlying threat of mining in the páramo has not subsided – nor have the threats against Comité members who are facing harassment and stigmatization for their work in defense of the páramo and its vital water sources. MiningWatch echoes their concerns, joining in their calls to uphold and make permanent this court ruling.
Ejido de Carrizallilo in Mexico Faces Increased Threats as it Fights for a Fair Deal from Equinox Gold
In March, MiningWatch joined nearly 100 other organizations in writing to Equinox Gold, expressing profound concern over escalating tensions, threats of violence, and legal persecution of members of the Ejido de Carrizalillo and their families who live roughly half a kilometre from the massive heap leach pad at Equinox Gold’s Los Filos mine in Guerrero, Mexico. The land use agreement which allows the mine to operate on the agricultural lands of the Ejido expired on March 31, 2025. Threats and intimidation ramped up throughout February and March as the Ejido attempted to improve the conditions for negotiations while the company sought to drastically reduce the rent and social benefits, which include important issues such as medication and water treatment.
Failing to reach a new agreement, Equinox announced an indefinite suspension of mining activities at Los Filos and in response, the Ejido de Carizalillo has set up an encampment outside the mine. Members face ongoing threats and what amounts to a smear campaign in local media. We amplify their calls as they urge Equinox to provide adequate compensation and remediation of their land.
PHOTO: A view of the Cobre Panamá copper mine, owned by the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals. Credit: Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM Panamá)