The tri-border area between Peru, Colombia, and Brazil—comprising Santa Rosa (Peru), Tabatinga (Brazil), and Leticia (Colombia)—has become a hotspot for illicit activities including illegal gold mining, drug trafficking, illegal logging, and extortion. According to security expert Pedro Yaranga, Colombian criminal groups regularly cross into Peruvian territory to promote coca cultivation in provinces like Ramón Castilla, supplying chemical inputs from Colombia. In recent years, illegal gold mining has surged, driven by high global prices, and now yields greater profits for organized crime networks than the drug trade itself.
This criminal economy is deeply intertwined with local livelihoods, porous borders, and weak state presence. Communities often coexist across the border, sharing family and economic ties, but these same networks can facilitate illicit flows of minerals, narcotics, and contraband. The situation is further complicated by growing diplomatic tension between Peru and Colombia over sovereignty claims to Santa Rosa Island. In response, the armed forces of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador convened an unprecedented Tripartite Military Intelligence meeting in Puerto Leguízamo, aiming to coordinate simultaneous operations against organized crime and environmental offenses in the region.
From a governance and development perspective, the persistence of illegal mining in this region underscores the absence of strong stakeholder engagement mechanisms and the erosion of any social license to operate for extractive activities. Without genuine participation of local communities, indigenous leaders, and municipal authorities in security, economic planning, and environmental management, enforcement alone is unlikely to succeed. Building trust, creating legal livelihood alternatives, and ensuring fair benefit distribution are critical to replace illicit economies with sustainable development pathways, while fostering the legitimacy needed for any long-term resource governance.