Gold miners from the southeastern State of Bolivar have called on the National Assembly (AN) claiming that military force was used to have them evicted from claims in the Bochinche Forest and that Territorial Operations 5 (TO5) soldiers abused women, children and indigenous tribes people in violation of their human rights.

The military purge took place at the Bullit, El Tigre, Cerro Colorado and others mines where small-scale and artesanal miners were prospecting for gold despite local authorities' claims that they were causing criminal damage to the enviuronment.

An 8-man delegation from Sifontes municipality told AN deputies (congressmen) that TO5 officers, the National Guard (GN), and an official from the Environment Prosecutor's Office had tried to enforce a court order on the miners but that the military offerations had been "over the top" with the use of explosives to destroy homes and gardens as well as some small mine operations. Several people had been arrested and taken away on a truck, including two women, two teenager and two small children ... a mule and a dog has been shot dead.

Sifontes councillor Eliezer Lugo said the eviction was totally out of order since efforts had previously been made to settle outstanding differences with the small-scale miners. "Abuses like this cannot have any justification, under any circumstances ... we are appealing to the authorities to make sure that there is no repitition of this kind of enforcement measure."

The evicted miner are currently squatting at the Plaza Bolivar town square in Tumeremo where they say they have already spent more than 20 years seeking permits from the Ministry of the Environment without response.

"Yes, it's true, we are operating illegally, but the main culprits are the officials who will not give us permits and deny our requests. Yes, there is environmental damage in the area, but officials must know that the main damage was caused not by us but by a company that conducted exploration there ... they tore down the forest and turned over the soil while they were making their explorations ... the holes were already there when we arrived. Now the soldiers have smashed everything we had ... our morale is shattered and we're seeking local support to be able to travel to Caracas to confont the government about our case."