**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
### **GACN EXPOSES GOVERNMENT’S DESPERATE COVER-UP AT MARUDI MOUNTAINS: OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE CONTRADICTIONS REVEAL A CRIMINAL NETWORK IN OPERATION**
**Georgetown, Guyana – March 22, 2026** – The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network (GACN) today condemns a seemingly deliberate effort by the Government of Guyana to whitewash the criminal activities uncovered at the Marudi Mountains in Region Nine. A press release published by the Department of Public Information (DPI) on March 20, 2026, titled *“Visit to Marudi reveals structured, regulated mining operations,”* stands in stark contradiction to a mounting body of evidence gathered by GACN, which details the area’s infiltration by a sophisticated transnational criminal network linked to convicted Brazilian fugitives.
The DPI’s portrayal of Marudi as a model of “structured” and “regulated” mining is not only misleading but appears to be a coordinated attempt to discredit independent investigations and shield powerful actors from accountability. Our findings paint a picture of a region where military-grade weaponry is openly flaunted, unmarked helicopters operate with impunity, and convicted Brazilian criminals—including Rodrigo Cataratas, a man sentenced to over 22 years for leading an organization that devastated the Yanomami Indigenous Territory—operate with what appears to be official complicity.
The DPI release claims that mining operations are orderly, environmentally compliant, and beneficial to local communities, citing the involvement of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and local Toshaos. However, our extensive reporting reveals a far more sinister reality: a mining sector that has become a haven for money laundering, drug trafficking, and the illegal exploitation of Guyana’s resources, enabled by systemic institutional failures and corruption.
**A Catalogue of Contradictions: What the Government Won’t Tell You**
To appreciate the depth of the government’s duplicity, one need only compare the DPI’s March 20 narrative with the series of investigative reports we have published over recent months, all of which are available on our website.
**Official Government Narrative (DPI, March 20, 2026):**
– “Visit to Marudi reveals structured, regulated mining operations.”
– Mining is “safe and environmentally friendly” with no mercury use.
– GGMC maintains a regular on-site presence to ensure compliance.
– Operations are conducted by the Rupununi Miners Association (RMA) with 40 small-scale miners.
**What GACN Has Uncovered (Our Investigative Reports):**
– **Armed and Unanswered:** Our investigation exposes that a convicted Brazilian criminal, Rodrigo Cataratas (Rodrigo Martins Mello), is living openly in Guyana, brandishing military-grade assault weapons despite a 22-year prison sentence in Brazil for leading a criminal organization. This is the same individual the DPI’s release conveniently ignores while touting the presence of “Brazilian workers” as a mere skills shortage.
– **The Marudi Mirage:** Our reporting details the presence of unmarked helicopters and Brazilian fugitives operating with impunity, pointing to a sophisticated criminal network that appears to be operating with government tolerance, if not direct blessing.
– **Money Laundering Front:** Our investigation revealed that the Rupununi Miners Association, the very entity the DPI holds up as a model of cooperation, is operating as a dissolved entity being used as a front for illicit gold flows and transnational crime.
– **Mercury and Silence:** Our investigation directly questioned the government’s sanitized version of events, highlighting the use of mercury, the reality of foreign domination of the sector, and the silencing of local concerns.
– **Bolsonaro’s Network:** Our landmark case report established that associates of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, including those linked to massive financial crimes and illegal mining, are using Guyana’s gold sector for money laundering. The report identified Rodrigo Cataratas as a “mining businessman in Guyana” and detailed his personal friendship with Alexandre Ramagem, a convicted Brazilian coup plotter who escaped to the U.S. via Guyana. It also exposed the operations of individuals like Glaidson Acácio dos Santos (“Faraone dos Bitcoins”), an imprisoned pyramid scheme mastermind, whose wife is based in Guyana.
**The RMA Is Not a Legal Entity: A Foundational Deception**
The cornerstone of the DPI’s March 20 article is the claim that a Special Mining Permit issued to the Rupununi Miners Association (RMA) in 2021 created a framework that “enhanced safety and compliance.” What the DPI deliberately omitted is that **the RMA was legally dissolved nearly three years ago.**
On **May 6, 2023**, a notice published in the *Official Gazette of Guyana* formally cancelled the registration of the **Rupununi Miners Association Co-operative Society Ltd., Reg. No. 2187**. The cancellation was issued by the Chief Co-operatives Development Officer under **Section 38(1) of the Co-operative Societies Act** following an official inquiry that concluded the cooperative “ought to be dissolved.”
Under Guyana’s cooperative law, cancellation means the organization **loses its legal status**. Once dissolved, it cannot legally conduct financial transactions, enter agreements, or represent members in commercial activities. The Special Mining Permit issued to the RMA was explicitly non‑transferable and required the cooperative to maintain an active legal structure. Yet documents obtained by GACN show that **GGMC tribute payments tied to the dissolved association still appeared in transactions processed by the Commission in March 2024 and January 2025**—years after its cancellation.
This raises the critical question: **How can the government claim a “structured, regulated” mining operation exists when the entity at the center of that structure was legally dissolved by the state itself, yet continues to appear in official transactions?**
**The Ugly Truth: A Criminal Sanctuary, Not a Regulated Industry**
The DPI’s release attempts to reframe a crisis of sovereignty and corruption as a story of developmental progress. The facts, as meticulously documented by GACN, tell a different story:
1. **A Convicted Criminal’s Playground:** The DPI release mentions “Brazilian workers” in the context of a skills shortage. It fails to mention that among them is Rodrigo Cataratas, a man convicted *in absentia* of leading a “solid and structured criminal organization” that used 23 aircraft to illegally mine on Yanomami land. The same court that convicted Cataratas noted he is “currently a mining businessman in Guyana.” Our reports show him openly carrying assault weapons in Guyana. This is not a “skills gap”; it is a criminal takeover.
2. **The Ramagem Connection:** The DPI release makes no mention of the fact that the escape route for convicted Brazilian coup plotter Alexandre Ramagem ran directly through Guyana. As we reported, Ramagem’s escape was allegedly aided by the son of Rodrigo Cataratas, establishing a direct link between the highest levels of Brazilian political corruption and the illegal networks operating in Guyana’s mining sector.
3. **Money Laundering, Not Mining:** The government’s narrative of a “structured” industry ignores our findings that Brazilian money launderers, including those behind a R$38 billion (US$7 billion) pyramid scheme, are using Guyana’s gold sector to launder illicit funds. These individuals are buying gold from small-scale miners and exporting it through a web of companies, inserting dirty money into the legitimate global supply chain. The GGMC’s “compliance” efforts, as touted by the DPI, are either woefully inadequate or complicit in this scheme.
4. **Institutional Failure and Corruption:** The DPI’s claims of GGMC oversight ring hollow in light of documented “deep-rooted institutional failures” at the Commission, including allegations of administrative bias, corruption, and a lack of financial transparency. Billions in revenues remain unaccounted for, creating an environment where criminal networks can thrive.
5. **The Convergence of Crime:** The government’s sanitized version ignores that Marudi is not an isolated case but a node in a larger criminal ecosystem. As INTERPOL has noted, illegal gold mining is the “fastest-growing revenue stream for organized crime groups in Latin America.” It is inextricably linked to drug trafficking, as evidenced by U.S. sanctions against Guyanese nationals leading major drug trafficking organizations, and the seizure of 4.4 tons of cocaine at a clandestine airstrip in the Barima-Waini region. These same routes are used for smuggling gold and moving fugitives.
**A Deliberate Cover-Up: Why Now?**
The timing of this DPI press release is deeply suspicious. It comes weeks after our series of exposés detailed the extent of the Brazilian criminal network’s infiltration of the government and the gold industry. It appears to be a direct attempt to counter our findings by manufacturing a narrative of order and regulation.
The government’s strategy is clear: deploy state media to present a false picture of compliance while allowing its criminal associates to continue plundering the nation’s resources. The inclusion of statements from local Toshaos, while presented as evidence of community buy-in, appears to be a cynical attempt to use indigenous leaders as human shields for a mining regime that has been linked to environmental devastation and criminality.
**Our Demands**
The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network is not deceived by this transparent attempt at damage control. We call on the Government of Guyana to:
1. **Immediately and publicly address the presence of convicted Brazilian criminals, including Rodrigo Cataratas, operating in Guyana.** Explain under what authority they are permitted to carry military-grade weapons and conduct mining operations.
2. **Explain how a cooperative dissolved by official Gazette notice in 2023 continues to be recognized by the GGMC for tribute payments and mining permits.**
3. **Launch a full, independent, and transparent investigation** into the operations at Marudi Mountain, specifically focusing on the involvement of foreign nationals with criminal backgrounds and the role of government officials in facilitating their activities.
4. **Suspend all mining permits at Marudi** pending the outcome of a comprehensive review that prioritizes the rule of law and the integrity of Guyana’s sovereign territory over the profits of criminal networks.
5. **Cease the use of state media to propagate misinformation** and instead focus on addressing the serious allegations of corruption and criminality that have been substantiated by our reporting.
The people of Guyana deserve the truth. The Marudi Mountains are not a model of “structured, regulated mining.” They are a crime scene. And the government’s latest press release is not a report; it is a confession. The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network will continue to investigate and expose the cost of corruption, regardless of the attempts to silence us.
**-END-**
**References / GACN’s Previous Reporting on Marudi and Related Issues:**
– “Brazilian Criminal Rodrigo Cataratas & Co. Flaunt Military-Grade Assault Weapons Openly in Guyana” – https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/03/20/brazilian-criminal-rodrigo-cataratas-co-flaunt-military-grade-assault-weapons-openly-in-guyana/
– “The Marudi Mirage: Unmarked Helicopters, Brazilian Fugitives and the Criminal Network Operating with Guyana Government Blessings in South Rupununi” – https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/03/20/the-marudi-mirage-unmarked-helicopters-brasillian-fugitives-and-the-criminal-network-operating-with-guyana-government-blessings-it-south-rupununi/
– “Money Laundering in Marudi Mountains: Rupununi Mining Association a Front for Illicit Gold Flows & Transnational Crime” – https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/03/09/money-laundering-in-marudi-mountains-rupununi-mining-association-a-front-for-illicit-gold-flows-transnational-crime/
– “Marudi, Mercury, and Silence: Questioning the Official Narratives on Mining in Deep South Rupununi” – https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/03/20/marudi-mercury-and-silence-questioning-the-official-narratives-on-mining-in-deep-south-rupununi/
– “Jair Bolsonaro’s Criminal Network Has Infiltrated Guyana’s Government and Gold Industry” – https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/02/26/jair-bolsonaros-criminal-network-has-infiltrated-guyanas-government-and-gold-industry/
– Guyana Anti-Corruption Network Homepage – https://guyanaintegrity.com
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