Guyana Anti Corruption Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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GACN to Expose Lawlessness, Transnational Crime, and Indigenous Rights Violations at Marudi Mountain in Upcoming Investigative Series

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – March 28, 2026 – The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network (GACN) today announced the upcoming release of a major investigative series titled The Mountain They Stole, a six-part exposé examining the crisis at Marudi Mountain (Marutu Taawa) and the decades-long failure of successive governments to honor Wapichan land rights.

The series, which begins publication today, March 28, 2026, reveals a sprawling web of administrative betrayal, transnational crime, and state complicity that has transformed the sacred mountain—located approximately 30 to 50 miles from Aishalton Village—into a lawless frontier where illegal miners, gun runners, and human traffickers operate with impunity.

Key findings of the investigation include:

· Indigenous Rights Violations: Aishalton Village formally submitted an application to extend its territory to include Marudi Mountain in 2019–2020 under then-Toshao Michael Williams. More than six years later, the application remains pending—a delay GACN characterizes as a deliberate strategy to permit mining operations while avoiding legal consultation requirements under the Amerindian Act 2006.
· Transnational Crime Networks: Brazilian criminal organizations (garimpeiros) have established a significant presence on Marudi, operating sophisticated logistics that include helicopters and light aircraft moving gold, supplies, and personnel through remote airstrips. The investigation documents money laundering, gun running, and the proliferation of illegal firearms.
· Human Trafficking: Credible reports confirm sex trafficking networks operating in mining camps, exploiting Indigenous women and girls from surrounding communities as well as women from Brazil and Venezuela. Victims are trapped by debt, threats, and the complete absence of law enforcement.
· Environmental Destruction: Mining operations have contaminated creeks with mercury and cyanide, destroyed sacred petroglyphs, and caused significant deforestation visible in satellite imagery—all in violation of Guyana’s Environmental Protection Act, Mining Act, and Mercury Management Regulations.
· State Complicity: GACN has confirmed that members of Brazilian criminal networks operating in the region have met with senior Guyanese officials, including the President, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Natural Resources. The nature and purpose of these meetings demand urgent parliamentary scrutiny.
· Selective Policing: While illegal miners operate openly with armed security, the Guyana Police Force has no permanent presence in the area. When Aishalton villagers attempted to block mining access in 2021, police responded swiftly—against the Indigenous community.

“This is not a story of administrative failure. It is a story of deliberate choice,” said a spokesperson for GACN. “The government has weaponized delay on the land claim to create a legal gray zone where criminal networks flourish, Indigenous rights are suspended, and those who speak out are silenced. The evidence of high-level meetings between government officials and criminal network members demands immediate investigation.”

The six-part series will be published daily with the following installments:

· Part 1: Marutu Taawa: The Ancestral Heart – March 28, 2026
· Part 2: The Paper Trail of Betrayal – March 29, 2026
· Part 3: A Community Under Siege – March 30, 2026
· Part 4: The Lawless Frontier – March 31, 2026
· Part 5: The Enablers: State Complicity – April 1, 2026
· Part 6: The Reckoning – April 2, 2026

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