Cuban newspaper warns about danger of illegal gold mining

HAVANA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's official daily Granma warned on Wednesday about how the scourge of illegal gold mining represents a threat to the environment and can often cost human lives.

"In search of a quick fortune, illegal miners achieve illicit benefits from the national heritage and damage the environment while also risking their lives," said the newspaper.

The official daily of the ruling Communist Party reported on the illegal mining carried out by six people in January, in the eastern province of Holguin.

Their actions led to the death of two of them and injuries to the four others, due to carbon monoxide inhalation, produced by the engine of a turbine they were using to extract water from the mineshaft.

According to Juan Miguel Moran, vice-president of the Holguin provincial government, from July 2014 to December 2017, 210 people were arrested in the province on charges of illegal gold mining.

"We recognize that the miner is the last step in the chain, which is why it is necessary to discover those who organize the network and finance the activity," he continued.

"We need to determine the final destination of the product and fight the melter, the jeweler and the craftsman who act outside the law, as well as the trafficker, foreigner or Cuban, who seek to take the gold out of the country," he said. Enditem