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Mining Out of the Amazon

Brazilian Court Mounts Pressure on Canadian Mining Companies Operating in the Amazon

Court of Appeals rulings reinforce Indigenous claims concerning lack of consultations while prohibiting government agencies from representing Canadian interests in legal proceedings

“Waking up to this news brought us extreme happiness. Every victory, small or large, strengthens our work even more."

May 21, 2026

8,119 views

3 min read

A New Gold Rush Threatens the Amazon

Whenever gold returns to the center of global geopolitics, the Amazon comes back into the crosshairs. The war between the United States and Iran has put the metal back on the radar of markets, investors, and the extractive industry.

May 6, 2026

9,808 views

4 min read

Brazilian Court To Rule on Whether Belo Sun’s Amazon Gold Mine Stays Suspended

Associated Press | Scientists said that any dam failure could send toxic waste rapidly into the river, threatening Indigenous and riverine communities as well as the ecosystem.

May 18, 2026

3,257 views

4 min read

Major Indigenous Protest in Brazil Targets Belo Sun Gold Mine Project

Thousands of Indigenous people marched in Brazil’s capital yesterday, during the second day of the 2026 Free Land Camp (ATL), the country’s largest Indigenous mobilization, to denounce land rights violations driven by large-scale mining, agribusiness, and logging projects.

April 8, 2026

8,023 views

3 min read

End Amazon Crude

This Month Governments Meet to Plan a Fossil Fuel Phaseout. The Amazon Must Be Heard.

Indigenous peoples have demanded for decades that governments come together and commit to getting off fossil fuels. The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, taking place later this month in Santa Marta, Colombia, is a manifestation of that demand.

April 7, 2026

9,501 views

5 min read

Pushing Back Against the “Donroe Doctrine”

When Petro met Trump on February 3rd, the stakes were high. The Trump Administration had decertified Colombia from receiving security assistance on grounds that it was not adequately addressing drug trafficking.

February 26, 2026

9,630 views

3 min read

Hope Is a Practice: 30 Years Walking With the U’wa People

In a time of repression and daily outrage, where do we find hope? For nearly 30 years, the U’wa people of Colombia have shown the world what spiritual, cultural, and political resistance looks like. Their struggle continues, and so does our commitment.

January 13, 2026

8,423 views

5 min read

Built to Spill: Ecuador’s Pipeline Disaster and the Fight to Stop the Next One

Coastal communities in Ecuador are still reeling from a devastating oil spill on March 13, which dumped over 25,000 barrels of crude oil into rivers and protected areas in the northwestern province of Esmeraldas.

April 8, 2025

6,879 views

3 min read

Recent Reports

The Money Trail

Behind fossil fuel expansion in Latin American and the Caribbean

This report shines a spotlight on companies that are exploring and developing new fossil fuel reserves or building new fossil infrastructure, and it reveals which banks and investors are backing the expansion of this dirty and dangerous industry across Latin America and the Caribbean.

September 2025

2,858 views

2 min read

Amazon Under Siege

How Crime and Militarization Threaten Indigenous Peoples

This report calls for a regional strategy centered on environmental protection, state-building, and community governance.

April 2026

10,113 views

1 min read

In the Shadows of the State

Illicit Economies and Armed Control in the Triple Border Region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

This report calls for a regional strategy centered on environmental protection, state-building, and community governance.

August 2025

9,356 views

1 min read

More News on Indigenous Rights, the Amazon, and Our Global Climate Crisis

Canadian Mining Company Changes President in Brazil Amid Xingu Dispute

O Globo | Canadian mining company Belo Sun has changed the leadership of its operations in Brazil. The move comes as the company works to convince investors that the project is moving forward.

June 8, 2026

4,319 views

1 min read

Peru’s Amazon at a Crossroads as Drug Trafficking Expands Across Indigenous Territories

A new report on the impact of drug trafficking on Indigenous Peoples in Peru warns that the country faces a defining decision: confront the rapid expansion of organized crime in the Amazon, or risk allowing new systems of criminal power to take root across vast regions of the country.

May 2026

10,595 views

2 min read

Indigenous Peoples Brought the Amazon Crime Crisis to the U.N. What Happens Next?

“It is fundamental that states understand Indigenous peoples are crucial actors when it comes to security and containing organized crime."

May 19, 2026

6,649 views

6 min read

Indigenous Amazon Groups Urge the U.N. To Curb Organized Crime, Not Militarize Territories

Associated Press | “In light of this situation, it is essential that responses to organized crime and illicit economies do not translate into new processes of militarization, criminalization, or the subordination of Indigenous governance systems.”

May 11, 2026

7,698 views

4 min read

Indigenous Leaders Bring Amazon Crime Crisis to the UN

As militarized responses fail, Indigenous territorial governance proves vital

An urgent message is traveling from the Amazon to the United Nations. This week, Amazon Watch will accompany a delegation of Indigenous leaders from Peru and Ecuador to New York for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

April 20, 2026

10,661 views

4 min read

Territorios Indígenas Bajo Amenaza

La doble presión del crimen organizado y la militarización en la Amazonía

Este informe llama a una estrategia regional centrada en la protección ambiental, el fortalecimiento institucional del Estado y la gobernanza comunitaria.

Abril 2026

9,341 views

2 min read

Tireless Resistance for Mother Nature

Testimonial from Women Defenders Delegation to the Amazon

A picture is worth a thousand tears. That was what I felt traveling to Ecuadorian Amazon with Amazon Watch on a woman donors delegation last month where we traveled from the Andes to the Amazon and deep into the remote Kichwa community of Sarayaku.

April 16, 2026

9,531 views

3 min read

Brasília Becomes Indigenous Territory

Last week, Brazil’s capital Brasília was transformed into a center of Indigenous resistance. With more than 7,000 Indigenous people occupying the capital, the 2026 Free Land Camp (ATL) pressured Brazil’s government to uphold native land rights

April 13, 2026

8,990 views

2 min read

The Trump Doctrine in Latin America: Carry a Big Stick and Speak of “Total Extermination”

The Administration designated a dozen Latin American criminal cartels as terrorist organizations and launched Operation Southern Spear in September.

April 2, 2026

10,666 views

4 min read

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Peru Must Protect Kakataibo People in Isolation

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has issued a clear mandate, ordering the Peruvian State to protect the Kakataibo people living in voluntary isolation in the Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve.

March 31, 2026

6,266 views

3 min read

“The rainforest speaks with the voice of a woman.”

Ecuador’s Indigenous Women March Against Oil

On International Women's Day, Indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon traveled by foot, car, and canoe to Puyo with a single, unified demand: No more oil in the Amazon.

March 31, 2026

7,496 views

2 min read

Bringing Down a Decree: Inside the Indigenous Victory on the Tapajós River

On January 30, I witnessed the inauguration of the Munduruku people’s Pariri Association headquarters at the Praia do Mangue Indigenous Reserve.

March 17, 2026

8,772 views

6 min read

Indigenous Women Tour Ecuador Oil Field as Warning Against Amazon Drilling Expansion

Associated Press | “We want to live in a healthy environment and in harmony with the forest."

March 14, 2026

7,904 views

5 min read

Amazon Watch Turns 30

What began as a commitment to support frontline communities has grown into a global movement for rainforest protection, Indigenous rights, and climate justice.

March 12, 2026

7,959 views

1 min read

Justice for Indigenous Girls in the Peruvian Amazon

More than 800 cases of sexual abuse against Indigenous girls and boys remain unresolved in Condorcanqui. A growing health emergency compounds the crisis.

March 9, 2026

7,652 views

1 min read

When Criminal Networks Invade the Amazon, Indigenous Autonomy Resists

More than 60 Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru gathered in the Peruvian Amazon to confront a rapidly growing threat.

March 4, 2026

6,291 views

6 min read

How Indigenous Women Forced Peru to Reverse a Dangerous Rollback of Justice

Awajún and Wampis women have transformed grief into organized power, compelling the state to reverse a dangerous rollback of justice services for survivors of sexual violence.

March 3, 2026

10,253 views

5 min read

“The River Won”: How Campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon Stopped Privatisation of Waterway

The Guardian | "A victory for life.” That was the triumphal message from Indigenous campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon this week after they staved off a threat to the Tapajós River by occupying a grain terminal operated by Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the United States.

February 27, 2026

8,999 views

5 min read

From Pandora to the Amazon, Indigenous Leadership Is Protecting Life on Earth

More than a decade after Avatar brought global attention to the destruction of Indigenous lands, Amazon Watch has released a new short video.

February 20, 2026

6,706 views

2 min read

Indigenous Brazilians Protest Amazon River Dredging for Grain Exports

AFP | Hundreds of Indigenous people have been protesting in northern Brazil for two weeks outside the port terminal of U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill, angered over the dredging and development of Amazonian rivers for grain exports.

February 4, 2026

8,850 views

2 min read

Indigenous Protesters Block Cargill Facility in Brazil Over President Lula’s Decree

Associated Press | Hundreds of Indigenous people have been protesting for almost a week at a Cargill facility in Brazil against a decree allowing the federal government to consider private concessions for waterways.

January 28, 2026

8,436 views

2 min read

What Brazil’s New Legal Landscape Means for the Amazon and Its Peoples

Despite clear warnings from research institutions, Brazil is moving closer to licensing a mega-project based on incomplete and flawed environmental studies.

January 27, 2026

6,487 views

5 min read

2026: A Year of Decision for the Amazon

The Amazon has reached an ecological tipping point. What happens in 2026 will help determine whether climate justice remains possible or becomes an empty slogan.

January 27, 2026

10,645 views

6 min read

Indigenous Leadership and Collective Power in 2025

As climate denial gained renewed political traction and governments moved to restrict civic space, Indigenous peoples and grassroots movements across the Amazon advanced bold, collective visions for the future.

December 26, 2025

7,842 views

4 min read

See All: News Articles | Reports | Blog Posts | Campaign Updates | Press Releases

Global El Niño and Coastal El Niño could combine to create wildfire conditions resembling the catastrophic Amazon fire seasons of 2019 and 2024

Anti Chevron Day 2026 united communities fighting extraction, environmental racism, and corporate impunity across continents

Mining Out of the Amazon

Court of Appeals rulings reinforce Indigenous claims concerning lack of consultations while prohibiting government agencies from representing Canadian interests in legal proceedings

End Amazon Crude

Recent Reports

Behind fossil fuel expansion in Latin American and the Caribbean

How Crime and Militarization Threaten Indigenous Peoples

Illicit Economies and Armed Control in the Triple Border Region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

More News on Indigenous Rights, the Amazon, and Our Global Climate Crisis

As militarized responses fail, Indigenous territorial governance proves vital

La doble presión del crimen organizado y la militarización en la Amazonía

Testimonial from Women Defenders Delegation to the Amazon

Ecuador’s Indigenous Women March Against Oil

"Your reports helped our foundation divest from companies whose practices destroy the Amazon rainforest. We're honored to support your work. Thank you for showing us a better way."

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