Cruz del Sur 2014
On May 18, 2014, two groups of miners engaged in a fatal clash over mining rights to the gold deposits along the Chaqueti River area. The clash erupted between miners from Acropongo, who had recently been granted the right to mine along the river in their province under controversial circumstances, and the invading Ullakaya Condorini miners of the Saavedra Province, who had previously been granted exclusive mining rights along the river. The dispute originated over the understanding in Acropongo that the mining rights of the Ullakaya Condorini did not extend into the province of Acropongo, with the other side believing they had exclusive rights to the entire area surrounding the river (“Oro En Bolivia: Presentan Denuncia Penal Contra Autoridades Por Caso Personería” 2014). Prior to the deaths, confrontations had been ongoing for two weeks. The three deceased are Antonio Flores Calle, 27; Mario Villegas Huarachi, 19, and Gonzalo Cabrrera Huanca, and all died because of gunshot wounds (“Oro En Bolivia: Presentan Denuncia Penal Contra Autoridades Por Caso Personería” 2014). Further, two were reported wounded, Hugo Callisaya Apaza (44) and David Chura (39), both members of the Ullakaya Condorini. The invading miners, numbering roughly 300, had forced all women and children, while brandishing firearms and hiding their faces with hoods, to flee areas of conflict to the woods before the clash had broken out, so women and children were not harmed in the events.
During the investigation it was found that the shooting began outside a school, machine gun bullets had been used during the clash, and a helicopter flew overhead with arms, ammunition, and food for the invading miners–the latter pieces of information suggesting a wealthy backer was responsible for the planning. Apparently the helicopter had also been used in previous raids on to foreign mining territory by the group from Saavedra, according to the President of the Central of Cooperatives of Colquiri, Victor Flores (“Oro En Bolivia: Se Confirma Muerte de Un Minero y Se Presume Dos Nuevos Decesos” 2014). Further, negotiations between the Central Mining Commission and the Ullakaya Condorini cooperative had previously taken place to sort out demarcations for mining; however, negotiations stalled when irregularities were found with one of the negotiating parties (“Oro En Bolivia: Se Confirma Muerte de Un Minero y Se Presume Dos Nuevos Decesos” 2014). Certain parties, like José Luis Chorolque, the Vice President of Mining Operations in Bolivia, lay blame at COMIBOL, the institution responsible for authorizing legal mining operations, as their long and drawn out process led to an overflow of unregistered mines (“Oro En Bolivia: Fiscalía Confirma Dos Fallecimientos En Arcopongo” 2014). On May 22, 2014, Aníbal Edson Cahuana, 24, a member of the Ullakaya Condorini Cooperative and son of Saavedra province community leader Telmo Cahuana, was arrested by authorities for inciting violence and participating in the murders of Antonio Flores Calle and Mario Villegas Huarachi. Seven others were also arrested on May 22 for participating in the violence (“Oro En Bolivia: Fiscalía Confirma Dos Fallecimientos En Arcopongo” 2014). On June 24, 2014, the Public Prosecutor's office of El Alto de la Paz and the Special Cases Investigation Unit arrested three of the leading suspects in the deaths resulting from the clash (Agencia de Noticias Fides 2014b). The suspects–Richard Siama Cocarico, Ramiro Balmaceda Chuquimia and Javier Quispe–were sentenced on June 25, 2014, bringing the total sentenced to eleven (Agencia de Noticias Fides 2014a).
Legal fallout from the trial directly targeted illegal mining operations that were operating along the Chaqueti River, but it exposed political corruption in the process. The Vice-Minister of Mining Cooperatives reported more than 30 mining cooperatives operating within Acropongo, some 28 of which were not legally registered and due for seizure (“Oro En Bolivia: Fiscalía Confirma Dos Fallecimientos En Arcopongo” 2014). The Ullakaya Condorini Corporation waited over a year to receive their legal grant to mine and reportedly held a “preferential right” to mine along the river (“Oro En Bolivia: Presentan Denuncia Penal Contra Autoridades Por Caso Personería” 2014). Conversely, Minera Palma Flor, the corporation that had been mining in Acropongo, had allegedly only waited two days for the application to be processed. It was later revealed that political favors had been done on behalf of the Vice Minister of Employment, Civil Service, and Cooperatives, Tiburcio Aguilar; the Alternate Deputy of MAS, Gladys Vargas; and the departmental assemblyman of La Paz, Juan Marca–the alleged conspirators in the case. With their familial connections to the regions, authorities reported the politicians had received alleged kickbacks and shares in the mining corporation to push through the process legally on an “exceptional and emergency basis” (“Oro En Bolivia: Presentan Denuncia Penal Contra Autoridades Por Caso Personería” 2014). Vargas dismissed the claims, instead saying that the application process had taken over five months.
A reprisal murder was committed in the area on October 11, 2014. Silverio Olivares Quispe was found by another community member with multiple gunshot wounds on the morning of October 11, 2014. Silverio Olivares Quispe was later pronounced dead by authorities when the investigation began a day later (Erbol Digital Archivo 2014). Silverio was a member of the Cruz del Sur cooperative and a member of the Choro Grande community, and the group remained at odds with the miners of Acropongo, of the Choro community, over the exploitation of a gold mine. Choro community members had blamed the original clash in May on the people of Choro Grande (Los Tiempos 2014). The conflict originated in 2007, when the larger El Choro community was split in two–El Choro and El Choro Grande–over disputes regarding mining rights. Two men died on June 21 and an agreement was signed after, supposedly putting a cessation to the violence. The men were members of the Choro community and blame for the hits was placed at the feet of the Choro Grande community (Los Tiempos 2014). However, the murder of Silvio showed that the agreement was not respected by the Choro community and that violence was still a reality in the region. Two members of Trinidad Pampa, a mining corporation in Acropongo, were eventually arrested for their roles in the murder (Notimerica 2014).
See also (Opinión 2014; “Oro en Bolivia: Choque entre cooperativistas por una mina deja un muerto” 2014; “Oro En Bolivia: Solo 2 Cooperativas Son Legales de Las Más de 30 En Arcopongo” 2014; Mendoza 2014)