Peru kidnaps leaves 13 dead in the gold mine

Thirteen miners were found death in a mine in Peru after they were abducted a few days earlier.

They worked at a gold mine from Peruvian mining company Poderosa, located in the province of Pataz, north of the capital Lima.

The victims were broadcast to confront a group of people involved in illegal mining in the area, but were abducted by a criminal gang who tried to get control of the mine.

The gang kept them hostage in a mine shaft. For a week they sent threatening messages to the family members of the miners.

In recent years there has been a peak in criminals who attacked mines in the country.

On Friday, the company – which employs 8,000 people – released a statement that it was disappointed that the police did not did enough to prevent illegal mining.

“The climate of violence continues to escalate in the region,” the company said.

The Peruvian news site Diario Correo reported that a video spread on social media – reportedly recorded by the kidnappers themselves – showed that the miners had been performed at a point -blank range.

It is not clear what encouraged them to kill the group.

Since 2020, illegal mining has taken over several mines that are run by Poderosa, forcing them to give up some activities and “to jeopardize the physical safety of our employees and the traditional miners,” the company said.

In March, criminals who work with illegal miners near La Ciénaga Ravine attended the Pataz district of contractors in the mine, killing two people.

The same month the company also said that illegal miners blew up a high -voltage tower that supplies electricity to the mines and tried to “invade”. Poderosa said that the police and the army were unable to take control and called on the government to restore order.

The company said that illegal mining and organized crime could work with “absolute impunity”.

Peru is one of the world’s largest gold producers and mining more than 100 tons per year – or about 4% of the annual stock in the world.