President Gustavo Petro has asked the media, including EL TIEMPO, to rectify the information according to which the mining title that he handed over in the municipality of Cáceres (Antioquia), it does not border nor is it within the Army’s 31st Rifles battalion.
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“I ask @ELTIEMPO to rectify this information is false. The mining title that I gave in Cáceres to dignify small mining does not border and is not within the Rifles Battalion. In pink is the title of small mining and in green is the limit of the Rifles Battalion,” the president said on his networks in which he published the map.
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What Corantioquia and the ANM say
Illegal gold mine. Photo:THE TIME | Federico Ríos Escobar for the New York Times.
The president refers to an investigation by EL TIEMPO, according to which – based on official documents – on April 11, 2024, the merchant Hermelina Cardozo Callereceived from the President the title of mining formalization in an area known as La Mandinga where the dumping of mercury and other environmental violations of illegal mining have even been denounced by the Army (in 2022).
This newspaper assured that this qualification is next to the 31st Rifles battalion. And a statement issued by Corantioquia on Wednesday, April 29, was cited, in which “they presume that it is one kilometer away.”
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“The Mina Mandinga project (plate ODH-08201) has a temporary environmental license granted in 2022, for the exploitation of gold and silver, within the framework of a mining formalization process that complied with the technical, legal and environmental requirements established by current regulations. Based on georeferencing tools, such as Google Earth, it is presumed that the project is located one kilometer from the limits of the 31st Rifles Infantry Battalion,” Corantioquia said.
This is the trill of President Gustavo Petro. Photo:x
And in a statement just made by the National Mining Agency (ANM) They point out that the mining title is located about 5 kilometers from the Rifles battalionthat is, it is in the same area as the military unit.
What both entities agree on is that there is information about illegal extraction.
Transfer of the file
This is the concession contract for the La Mandinga Mine. Photo:THE TIME
In fact, This newspaper also revealed that the merchant Hermelina Cardozo made a first complaint on November 17, 2022 and another on May 11, 2023. And the ANM stated that since October 2025 it has requested immediate actions to stop the illegal occupation in the La Mandinga mine.
“In relation to what was observed, it is necessary to indicate that Mrs. Hermelina Isabel Cardozo Calle has informed the Corporation through communications with files No. 160PZ-COE2211-39971 of November 17, 2022 and No. 160PZ-COE2305-19173 of May 11, 2023.on the development of non-formalized mining activities within the ODH-08201 industrial estate and the environmental damage caused by undetermined miners,” says a Corantioquia report in the hands of EL TIEMPO.
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And in his statement he issued he reiterates that since 2011 he has informed entities such as the National Mining Agency, the Attorney General’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Comptroller General of the Republic, different reports related to situations associated with mining activities, in the exercise of their environmental control and surveillance powers.
La Mandinga Mine located next to the 31st Rifle Infantry Battalion. Photo:Private file
Besides, that due to the public order situation that hits the region, the control they exercise has been a challenge.
For its part, the ANM reported that since October 2025 (after the delivery of the formalization title), it requested immediate actions to stop the illegal occupation in the La Mandinga mine. And he reiterated that local authorities must act in accordance with the mining code.
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