During the operation, authorities seized marijuana, several grams of a mineral presumed to be gold, and a digital scale; these items, along with the detainees, were turned over to the competent authorities for the corresponding investigations.

This latest operation comes just days after Senafront reported the arrest—on August 19—of another 21 Colombian citizens near the headwaters of the Pito River, also in Darien, for their involvement in illegal mining.

That intervention uncovered makeshift camps, dredges, motor pumps, and other equipment used for gold extraction, in an operation likewise carried out under the “Steel Shield” (*Escudo de Acero*) deployment.

Panamanian authorities have warned that illegal mining poses not only a threat to natural resources but also serves as a source of funding for organized crime groups operating in the border region with Colombia.

The financial aspect of the phenomenon has also begun to take center stage in the regional strategy.

With these new arrests, Darien once again becomes the focal point of Panamanian security efforts aimed at curbing the clandestine exploitation of mineral resources and dismantling the transnational networks that authorities say profit from these activities.

jdt/car/ga