A Peruvian prosecutor specializing in environmental crimes has been ordered to serve 16 months of pretrial detention after a court found he was linked to an illegal mining gang operating in the Amazon region of Madre de Dios.
The Second Preparatory Investigation Court of Ventanilla issued the ruling against Américo Oswaldo Bautista Yama, a provincial prosecutor attached to the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Madre de Dios. He is under investigation for alleged membership in a criminal organization, obstruction of justice, and illicit trafficking of chemical inputs used in illegal mining.
According to prosecutors, Bautista is linked to the criminal gang Los Sanguinarios de La Pampa, which is allegedly led by Eneyser Fernández Pérez, known by the alias Brayan. Investigators say he took steps to benefit members of that organization and to hinder proceedings related to an illegal mining investigation.
His arrest followed a joint operation led by the National Coordination of Environmental Prosecutors and the Anti-Corruption Police. According to authorities, Bautista coordinated operations along the Interoceanic Highway while providing cover for the criminal network.
The case against him deepened after a forensic examination of the alleged gang leader’s mobile phone, which police say revealed conversations and audio messages attributed to the prosecutor. In those messages, he allegedly gave instructions to prevent the handover of evidence and to coordinate the accounts given by those under investigation. Investigators also found accounting records that reportedly indicate a payment of 282,000 Peruvian soles to the prosecutor.
The investigation began after a raid on May 4 in the province of Tambopata, where six people linked to illegal mineral extraction were detained. A subsequent operation resulted in the arrest of 21 more people and the seizure of more than 14,000 rounds of ammunition, explosives, firearms, and equipment used for illegal gold extraction.
The criminal organization also faces charges of extortion and kidnapping, and was active in the district of Inambari, according to authorities.
Bautista’s case is not without precedent. Authorities note that in 2020 he was removed from his post after being linked to another criminal gang, Los Hostiles de la Amazonía, but was subsequently reinstated. In July alone, two public ministry officials were detained for aiding criminal networks and 103 police officers were dismissed for corruption.