Steven Grattan | Associated Press

A human rights commission is calling for stronger oversight of technologies used by criminal groups in Latin America. It says satellite internet, drones and online platforms are facilitating illegal mining and other environmental crimes.

Indigenous leaders from the Amazon are taking their fight against illegal mining, drug trafficking, and deforestation to a United Nations conference in Vienna next week. They want stronger international action against criminal networks threatening their forests and communities.

Interpol has announced a major crackdown on environmental crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading to 233 arrests. The operation uncovered links between Amazon deforestation and companies across several continents. Over two months, authorities targeted illegal logging, gold mining, and wildlife trafficking in nine countries. They identified 60,000 hectares of illegally cleared forest.

At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed worldwide in 2025, with Latin America accounting for 85% of the deaths. That's according to a new Global Witness report. Colombia remained the deadliest country for the fourth consecutive year, while killings more than doubled in Brazil. Indigenous people and small-scale farmers were particularly at risk as armed groups, illicit economies and disputes over land and natural resources put pressure on communities defending their territories.

Authorities from five Amazon countries have arrested hundreds in a major crackdown on environmental crime. Operation Green Shield 2026, which ran from July 15 to July 31, involved over 3,600 officers targeting illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking. Officials from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru coordinated the effort.

More than a month after Venezuela's devastating earthquakes, public health experts tell The Associated Press the coming weeks are critical to prevent secondary crises from contaminants. Dust from collapsed buildings fills the air, and garbage piles up. Some people are reporting respiratory illnesses.

From Brazil's expansion of firefighting brigades and aircraft to contingency plans for water, energy and agriculture in countries including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, authorities are preparing for potentially severe impacts.

The upcoming Colombian presidential election between Sen. Iván Cepeda, an ally of President Gustavo Petro, and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella is shaping up as a stark choice that could impact the future of the Amazon rainforest, fossil fuel development and the rights of Indigenous communities.

Living with fear can come with activism in Colombia, where one group recorded 48 killings of activists last year. Watchdog groups say the state should do more to prosecute anyone behind threats and attacks.

Interpol and partners have launched a global law enforcement effort to fight illegal deforestation in tropical areas. Wednesday's announcement says it's aimed at dismantling criminal networks behind illegal logging, timber trafficking and gold mining.

The Indigenous Guard of the Nasa people formed in Colombia in 2001 to protect Indigenous territories from armed groups and from environmental destruction such as deforestation and illegal mining. In the last few years, they have been forced to confront a growing problem with those armed groups recruiting children into operations that include growing coca for cocaine.