How Organized Crime and Gold Mining Are Fueling Venezuela’s Territorial Dispute with Guyana: Report

Tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over the mineral-rich Essequibo region have escalated in recent months, with a series of armed incidents along the border and growing evidence of organized crime fueling instability, according to a recent InSight Crime investigation.

To make matters more tense, the region is rich in mineral wealth that seems to offer the potential to ignite not only a binational standstill, but a geopolitical conflict with implications across the region. The area is currently administered by Guyana and claimed by Venezuela in a long-standing dispute being mediated by the International Court of Justice.

On May 13, 2025, Guyana Defense Force (GDF) troops were attacked while patrolling the Cuyuní River, which forms part of the disputed border. Similar attacks followed in the days after, though no casualties were reported. The origin of the attackers remains unclear. However, as a senior Guyanese official told InSight Crime: “we can’t say for sure who is running what or who is doing what over there.”

The attacks took place in a context of growing incursions by Venezuelan criminal groups known as sindicatos, who have been expanding their presence in the vast and sparsely patrolled territory of Essequibo. These groups, which control illegal gold mining operations in Venezuela’s Bolívar state with tacit support from state authorities, are reportedly crossing into Guyanese territory to extort miners and smuggle fuel, weapons, and gold.

A Guyanese mining activist reported that “a number of miners have been robbed along the roadway coming out with their production and killed,” and that mining camps have been ambushed by armed groups. Locals report Venezuelan gangs have set up checkpoints along the Cuyuní River, charging miners and traders for passage.

The criminal interest in Essequibo overlaps with the Venezuelan state’s political ambitions. On May 25, Venezuela held regional elections including Essequibo—referred to by Caracas as “Guayana Esequiba”—despite the fact that voting did not occur within the territory. Admiral Neil Villamizar was elected governor of the region, with President Nicolás Maduro promising him “full budgetary support.”

Essequibo’s gold wealth appears to be a key motivator. Some of the illegally mined Venezuelan gold is reportedly smuggled into Guyana and laundered through local trading hubs. “They are literally buying the gold from the Venezuelan miners,” said Khemraj Ramjattan, Guyana’s former public security minister.

The Trump administration has taken notice of the situation, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Georgetown in late March, signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen security cooperation and vowed stern response if Venezuela attacked Guyana:

“The regional threats are based on illegitimate territorial claims by a narco-trafficking regime. And I want to be frank, there will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive actions.”

The rapid expansion of Guyana’s oil industry has heightened its strategic importance to the U.S., as France24 reported in March, as Guyana is poised to become the world’s largest oil producer on a per capita basis, surpassing Qatar and Kuwait. In fact, ExxonMobil projects that Guyana will produce approximately 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.