Guyana Anti Corruption Network

 

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

## From the Amazon to the State House: Guyana Becomes a Safe Haven for Transnational Crime and Indigenous Land Destruction

**GEORGETOWN, GUYANA** – On 28 November 2023, President Irfaan Ali departed for Dubai to attend the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), where he addressed world leaders on forest preservation. While the Head of State was on the international stage advocating for environmental protection, back home in Georgetown, the Acting President of Guyana Prime Minister Mark Philli[ps welcomed a Brazilian fugitive who was actively evading prosecution for leading one of the largest illegal mining operations ever to devastate an Indigenous territory.

The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network (GACN) has uncovered evidence of a sophisticated transnational criminal network that has infiltrated Guyana’s government and gold industry—a network now linked not only to environmental destruction and money laundering but also to the escape of a convicted Brazilian coup plotter who fled through Guyana to the United States. This case exposes a disturbing pattern: senior Guyana government officials meeting with wanted criminals, porous borders enabling fugitives to move with impunity, and Indigenous lands being stripped of their resources without consent.

—

## INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORKS: What Guyana Has Committed To

The actions documented in this report violate multiple international treaties and domestic laws to which Guyana and Brazil are bound.

**United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)** – Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, UNDRIP recognizes that Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used. Article 32(2) explicitly requires states to obtain the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous peoples before authorizing development projects on their lands.

**ILO Convention 169 (Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989)** – This binding international treaty requires states to recognize the rights of ownership and possession of Indigenous peoples over the lands they traditionally occupy. Guyana has ratified this convention.

**Inter-American Court of Human Rights Jurisprudence** – The Court has consistently held that Indigenous land rights are fundamental human rights, requiring states to demarcate, title, and protect traditional territories. The Yanomami crisis was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for precisely the violations documented in this report.

**Brazilian Constitution** – Article 231 of Brazil’s Constitution explicitly prohibits illegal mining on Indigenous lands under any circumstances. The Constitution guarantees the right of Indigenous peoples to their own territory as permanent and inalienable ownership. Mining on Indigenous lands is illegal per se under Brazilian law.

**Guyana’s Amerindian Act 2006** – Guyana’s own domestic legislation grants Indigenous villages self-management and autonomy over their affairs. Section 48(1 & 2) of the Act stipulates that any mining operations on Indigenous lands must have the approval of the Village Council. The Act requires the free, prior and informed consent of at least two-thirds of those present and entitled to vote at a Village general meeting before any external mining can proceed. However, reports indicate that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has been granting mining permissions without following due process—a direct violation of Guyanese law.

**United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention)** – This international treaty, to which both Guyana and Brazil are parties, requires states to criminalize participation in organized criminal groups and to cooperate in combating transnational crime.

**Inter-American Convention against Corruption** – As a signatory to the OAS Convention, Guyana has committed to criminalizing acts of corruption and to strengthening mechanisms to prevent, detect, and punish corruption.

**Brazil’s Money Laundering Law (Lei 9.613/98)** – This law criminalizes the laundering of proceeds from criminal organizations, including those engaged in environmental crimes and illegal mining. Violations carry prison sentences of three to ten years.

**Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (No. 13 of 2009)** – Guyana’s own anti-money laundering framework explicitly targets the financial proceeds of criminal activity, including gold smuggling and organized crime. Despite this, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) detected a staggering $2 billion trail of suspected dirty money in 2024, much of it linked to gold smuggling and money laundering.

—

## THE CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE: Rodrigo Cataratas and the Yanomami Genocide

Rodrigo Martins de Mello, known as “Rodrigo Cataratas,” is a Brazilian garimpeiro (illegal miner) who became one of the most notorious figures in the Amazon’s illegal mining crisis. On **28 January 2026**, the Federal Court in Roraima, Brazil, convicted Cataratas of leading a “solid and structured criminal organization” that operated between 2018 and 2022 to illegally mine gold and cassiterite on the Yanomami Indigenous Territory.

**The court sentenced him to 22 years and 7 months in prison** for armed criminal organization, money laundering, and environmental devastation. The court found that Cataratas’s network managed a fleet of at least 23 aircraft to transport miners, fuel, and supplies into the restricted zone—a direct violation of Brazilian aviation regulations and international environmental law.

The impact on the Yanomami people has been catastrophic. It is estimated that more than 20,000 illegal miners invaded Yanomami land, causing widespread mercury poisoning, deforestation, disease, and the deaths of Indigenous children from malnutrition and preventable illnesses. A Yanomami leader testified: “I witnessed many of these deaths; I saw so much. Because of this, just saying his name brings me psychological problems… He was one of those responsible for the death of my Yanomami people.”

The court ordered Cataratas to pay more than R$31.7 million (approximately US$6.1 million) in damages to the Yanomami communities he displaced.

—

## THE HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS: Welcoming a Wanted Man into the Office of the Prime Minister

On **28 November 2023**, while President Ali was en route to COP28 in Dubai, Prime Minister Mark Phillips—performing the functions of President—hosted a delegation of Brazilian “investors” at his Camp Street office.

Photographs published on the official Facebook page of the Guyana Office of the Prime Minister show Prime Minister Phillips seated alongside **Rodrigo Martins de Mello (Rodrigo Cataratas)**. The caption noted that the meeting was attended by senior officials including Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues. The official statement said the group was in Guyana “to actively support the overall development of the nation.”

The delegation included several other Brazilian nationals:

– **Andrey Dimitry De Almeida Rocha** – a businessman with ties to the mining sector and, according to Brazilian corporate records, a partner in multiple companies, including Seven Mineracao Ltda, a mining company.
– **Marlon Amaral De Oliveira**
– **Fabio Braga Leite**

At the time of this meeting, Rodrigo Cataratas was **actively facing federal criminal prosecution** in Brazil. His trial was ongoing, and he was fully aware that conviction was imminent. According to a UOL investigation, Cataratas openly acknowledged that he was fleeing to Guyana to escape prosecution. He began systematically moving heavy mining machinery and equipment across the border into Guyana as early as 2023—months before the meeting with Prime Minister Phillips.

By October 2024, Cataratas had opened a gold mining company in Guyana. The court in his conviction noted that Cataratas himself is “currently a mining businessman in Guyana,” confirming that the convicted leader of this criminal organization has established a physical presence in the country.

This was not an isolated incident. Cataratas has been photographed in multiple meetings with senior Guyana government officials, including:

– **Prime Minister Mark Phillips** (28 November 2023)
– **Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat**
– **Officials from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)**

According to a 2024 Reuters investigation, illegal gold extracted from Indigenous lands in Brazil is being transported to Guyana, where criminal groups exploit more lenient regulations to export the metal to the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. A Brazilian Federal Police operation dismantled an illegal mining scheme worth **4 billion reais ($166 million)** that used Venezuela and Guyana as transit points for smuggled gold.

—

## THE ESCAPE ROUTE: How Guyana Became a Criminal Corridor

The investigation into Cataratas’s network has now revealed a direct connection to the escape of **Alexandre Ramagem**, a convicted Brazilian coup plotter and fugitive.

Ramagem, the former head of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), was convicted by the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, and coup d’état. He was sentenced to **16 years, 1 month, and 15 days in prison** in a closed regime.

In September 2025, Ramagem fled Brazil via a clandestine crossing into Guyana, avoiding all immigration checkpoints. According to the Director-General of the Brazilian Federal Police, Ramagem then embarked on a commercial flight from Georgetown’s airport to Miami, using a diplomatic passport to enter the United States.

The Brazilian Federal Police arrested **Celso Rodrigo de Mello**, the son of Rodrigo Cataratas, for allegedly assisting Ramagem’s escape. According to UOL, Cataratas’s son provided logistical support to help the convicted fugitive leave Brazil via the Guyana border.

As the Guyana Integrity investigation notes: “Ramagem’s trajectory—clandestine crossing into Guyana followed by a commercial flight from Georgetown to Miami—mirrors the pathways used for smuggling gold, drugs, and illicit cash. This demonstrates the interconnectivity of crime: the same routes that bring illegal gold and drugs out of the region can be used to move people.”

—

## THE BOLSONARO NETWORK: Infiltration of Guyana’s Government and Gold Industry

The connections go even higher. A Guyana Integrity investigation reveals that associates of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro—including individuals linked to major financial crimes—are establishing operations in Guyana’s gold sector, signaling a “strategic migration of illicit actors into the country.”

On **9 February 2026**, President Irfaan Ali met with Antonio Denarium, the Governor of the Brazilian state of Roraima, to discuss investment opportunities. During the same visit, President Ali was conferred with Roraima’s highest award, the Medalha Forte São Joaquim. But Governor Denarium is a controversial figure whose relatives have been investigated by Brazil’s Federal Police for money laundering derived from illegal gold extraction in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory—an operation focusing on the movement of R$64 million. Denarium himself has been investigated for multiple crimes, and Indigenous organizations have called him an “accomplice” to the Yanomami tragedy.

Documents show a direct connection between Governor Denarium and Rodrigo Cataratas, with records indicating they have participated in closed-door meetings. The court in Cataratas’s conviction noted that he operated with impunity in part due to political protection in Roraima.

The Guyana Integrity investigation concludes that “the networks GACN monitors are not just involved in resource extraction but also provide sophisticated logistical support for high-profile fugitives, facilitating their movement across the porous border.”

—

## A LONG TRAIL OF CRIME: Timeline of a Criminal Enterprise

**2018–2022** – Rodrigo Cataratas leads a “solid and structured criminal organization” illegally mining gold on Yanomami Indigenous Territory.

**2023 (early)** – Cataratas, realizing conviction is imminent, begins moving heavy mining machinery across the border into Guyana.

**28 November 2023** – President Ali departs for COP28 in Dubai. Acting President Mark Phillips meets with Cataratas and other Brazilian nationals, including Andrey Dimitry De Almeida Rocha, Marlon Amaral De Oliveira, and Fabio Braga Leite, in Georgetown. The Brazilian Federal Police also arrests a Venezuelan gold smuggler caught with 21 kilograms of gold in thermos bottles while boarding a flight—gold destined for Guyana.

**2024** – Brazil’s Federal Police dismantles a $166 million illegal gold scheme using Guyana as a transit point. Guyana’s Financial Intelligence Unit detects a $2 billion trail of suspected dirty money linked to gold smuggling.

**October 2024** – Cataratas opens a gold mining company in Guyana.

**September 2025** – Alexandre Ramagem flees Brazil via clandestine crossing into Guyana, then flies from Georgetown to Miami.

**28 January 2026** – Brazilian court convicts Cataratas of 22 years and 7 months for leading criminal organization and environmental crimes on Yanomami land.

**9 February 2026** – President Ali meets with Governor Antonio Denarium in Roraima.

**March 2026** – Opposition raises the issue in budget debates. Reports confirm Cataratas is operating a US$10 million gold mining venture in the Marudi mining district on Indigenous lands in Region Nine.

—

## RECOMMENDATIONS: What Must Be Done

The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network calls for the following actions:

1. **Immediate investigation** into how a convicted fugitive met with the Acting President and secured mining permits in Guyana. Was the Office of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Natural Resources aware of Cataratas’s pending federal criminal cases at the time of the 28 November 2023 meeting?

2. **Enhanced due diligence** on all foreign investments and mining permits, particularly those with political ties to foreign administrations or connections to individuals with criminal convictions.

3. **Strengthened border controls** and cooperation with Brazilian authorities to prevent Guyana from becoming a safe haven for fugitives. As the investigation shows, the same routes used for gold smuggling are being used to move convicted criminals.

4. **Full compliance with the Amerindian Act 2006** requiring Village Council approval before any mining on Indigenous lands. The GGMC must be held accountable for granting permits without Indigenous consent.

5. **International cooperation** under the Palermo Convention and OAS Convention to ensure that transnational criminal networks operating in Guyana are dismantled. Guyana must ratify and implement robust extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties to ensure it does not become a safe haven for fugitives.

6. **Strengthened anti-money laundering enforcement** under Guyana’s AML/CFT Act to trace and seize the proceeds of illegal gold mining entering the country’s financial system.

—

## CONCLUSION: A Betrayal of Indigenous Peoples and International Law

This is the reality of Guyana’s leadership on 28 November 2023: while President Irfaan Ali was in Dubai—speaking about climate action and forest preservation—Prime Minister Mark Phillips, acting in his stead, was welcoming a convicted environmental criminal into the Office of the Prime Minister. That same criminal is now operating a large-scale mining venture on Indigenous lands in Guyana.

As the Yanomami people struggle to recover from the devastation wrought by Rodrigo Cataratas—and as the international community watches—the people of Guyana must ask themselves: Is this the company our leaders choose to keep?

The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network calls on the international community to demand accountability. The violations documented in this report are not just a matter of Guyanese domestic law. They are violations of international human rights law, Indigenous rights treaties, anti-corruption conventions, and the global fight against transnational organized crime.

Guyana has positioned itself as a global leader on climate action. But climate leadership cannot coexist with providing safe harbor to those who poison Indigenous lands and children. The gap between Guyana’s words on the world stage and its actions at home could not be wider.

—

## REFERENCES

1. UOL. (2024, April 7). *Réu no Brasil, líder garimpeiro leva negócio à Guiana e mira eleição em RR*. Available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2024/04/07/reu-por-garimpo-na-terra-yanomami-leva-negocio-a-guiana-e-mira-eleicoes.htm

2. UOL. (2025, December 15). *Ramagem fugiu pela Guiana e usou passaporte diplomático, diz PF*. Available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2025/12/15/ramagem-fugiu-pela-guiana-e-usou-passaporte-diplomatico-diz-pf.htm

3. Guyana Integrity. (2026, February 26). *Jair Bolsonaro’s Criminal Network Has Infiltrated Guyana’s Government and Gold Industry*. Available at: https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/02/26/jair-bolsonaros-criminal-network-has-infiltrated-guyanas-government-and-gold-industry/

4. Guyana Integrity. (2026, February 28). *Alexandre Ramagem Living a Life of Luxury in Miami After Escaping Justice With Help From Guyana Crime Network*. Available at: https://guyanaintegrity.com/2026/02/28/alexandre-ramagem-living-a-life-of-luxury-in-miami-after-escaping-justice-with-help-from-guyana-crime-network/

5. Reuters. (2024, December 11). *Brazil police bust $166 million illegal gold scheme on Indigenous lands*. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-police-bust-166-million-illegal-gold-scheme-indigenous-lands-2024-12-11/

6. O Globo. (2024, December 26). *Illegal Amazon gold finds routes to Guyana, Venezuela, and Suriname*. Available at: https://oglobo.globo.com/english/noticia/2024/12/26/illegal-amazon-gold-finds-routes-to-guyana-venezuela-and-suriname.ghtml

7. Jornal do Tocantins. (2026, February 3). *Empresário é condenado a 22 anos de prisão por liderar garimpo na terra Yanomami*. Available at: https://www.jornaldotocantins.com.br/cidades/empresario-e-condenado-a-22-anos-de-pris-o-por-liderar-garimpo-na-terra-yanomami-1.3369717

8. G1. (2026, January 30). *Empresário é condenado a prisão por liderar grupo criminoso de garimpo ilegal na Terra Yanomami*. Available at: https://g1.globo.com/rr/roraima/noticia/2026/01/30/rodrigo-cataratas-condenado-garimpo-terra-yanomami-lider-organizacao.ghtml

9. Istoe. (2025, December 15). *Ramagem fugiu pela Guiana sem passar por fiscalização, confirma PF*. Available at: https://istoe.com.br/ramagem-fugiu-pela-guiana-sem-passar-por-fiscalizacao-confirma-pf

10. UN General Assembly. (2007). *United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)*.

11. International Labour Organization. (1989). *ILO Convention 169: Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention*.

12. Guyana Parliament. (2006). *Amerindian Act, No. 6 of 2006*.

13. Brazil Constitution. (1988). *Article 231 (Indigenous Rights)*.

14. Brazil Congress. (1998). *Law No. 9,613: Money Laundering Law (Lei de Lavagem de Dinheiro)*.

15. Guyana Parliament. (2009). *Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, No. 13 of 2009*.

16. United Nations. (2000). *United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention)*.

17. Organization of American States. (1996). *Inter-American Convention Against Corruption*.

18. Guyana Office of the Prime Minister. (2023, November 28). Facebook post. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/GuyanaOPM/posts/prime-minister-brigadier-retd-the-honourable-mark-phillips-who-is-performing-the/666646845651770/

19. CNPJ Services. (n.d.). *Andrey Dimitry De Almeida Rocha*. Available at: https://cnpj.services/qsa/andrey-dimitry-de-almeida-rocha/2

—

*The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network is a non-partisan civil society organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity in Guyana’s public and private sectors.*

**End of Release.**