Peru TV Report Puts US Agents in 6 October Gold Raids
SECURITY · PERU
Key Facts
- —The country Peru exports large amounts of gold, and illegal digging in its Amazon regions on the Ecuador border is a growing security problem.
- —Why it matters Witnesses tie the network to an Ecuadorian gang that Washington lists as a terrorist organisation, a US legal risk for illegal gold buyers.
- —Why now A Panorama television report on Sunday night, 11 October, showed US agents at the raids and named an alleged financier.
- —What happened Agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service accompanied the Tuesday, 6 October, raids on Los Lobos 2, the report said.
- —The numbers Prosecutors report 11 judicial detention orders, 10 properties searched and 10 people detained in the El Cenepa investigation.
- —What it means for you A US agency in the field signals closer cooperation; gold traced to these gangs could expose buyers to US terrorism-financing law.
- —Still open No US statement has been found, the alleged financier has not been located, and nobody has been convicted.
US federal agents took part in last week’s raids on Los Lobos 2, an illegal gold network in Peru, a Lima television programme reported on Sunday. The raids hit Lima, northern Peru and the Amazon region of Amazonas on Tuesday, 6 October. For American readers, the case ties illegal gold to Ecuadorian gangs that the United States lists as terrorist organisations.
The report by Panorama, a Sunday investigative programme on Panamericana Televisión, said the agents belong to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, according to Infobae Perú’s account of the broadcast. That agency, part of the US Interior Department, enforces American wildlife and environmental law through its own special agents.
Police first described 13 raids in six regions, as set out in Peru Raids 13 Sites Over Ecuador-Linked Mining Gang. The new details concern who took part, who allegedly paid, and how the network bought inside information.
What Prosecutors Have Confirmed
Peru’s Public Ministry, the country’s independent prosecution service, set out the official account in two press notes. Its specialised environmental prosecutors, known as FEMA, led the operation with the National Police.
On Tuesday, 6 October, the ministry said a judge had ordered 11 preliminary detentions. Officers searched 10 properties and seized phones, computers, cash, mining documents and a firearm.
A second note on Wednesday, 7 October, put the number detained at 10. It said police units for the environment and for organised crime took part.
The suspects are under investigation for organised crime, illegal mining, weapons possession and trafficking in mining chemicals and machinery. Prosecutors say the group worked in Condorcanqui province, in Amazonas, on the border with Ecuador.
According to the ministry, the network obtained privileged information about official operations so it could avoid interdiction. Prosecutors also say some officials, members of the army and former police officers helped it, including with firearms.
The ministry named a retired police captain, Estuardo Izquierdo, alias “Denzel”, among those detained, in Ventanilla near Lima. None of the suspects has been convicted, and all are presumed innocent.
What the Television Report Adds
Panorama said the US agents accompanied simultaneous searches meant to break the group’s financial and operational structure. Infobae Perú published a still from the report, captioned as showing a Fish and Wildlife Service agent at the operation.
The programme said prosecutors place Eduardo Caprile at the top of the structure, together with his brother. Caprile ran for mayor of Santiago de Surco, a Lima district, in 2022 for Podemos Perú.
Podemos Perú is a political party founded by businessman José Luna Gálvez. Prosecutors allege Caprile financed the network and a clandestine road called “Bambi”, used to bring people, machinery and supplies in from Ecuador.
Caprile has not been located by the authorities, according to Infobae Perú and Panamericana. No response from him or a lawyer has been published.
Protected witnesses in the report describe an alleged alliance with Los Choneros, an Ecuadorian gang. Its aim was to push a rival group out of a mining area. That claim has not been tested in court.
The report said a serving police officer allegedly took payments for details of operations, movements and shift changes. Two army intelligence non-commissioned officers allegedly leaked information. Panorama put the number of former police and soldiers who backed the network at more than 40.
The Ecuador Link and the US Terror List
Frank Almanza, the senior prosecutor who coordinates FEMA nationally, warned that Ecuadorian criminal groups are active inside Peru. He named Los Lobos among them, in areas including Condorcanqui, El Cenepa and El Tambo.
The US State Department designated Los Lobos and Los Choneros as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The notices were published on Friday, 5 September 2025. A parallel notice the same day listed both as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Those listings matter for anyone handling the gold. Knowingly giving material support to a designated group is a federal crime, and US authorities can block its property.
Peruvian authorities have not said Los Lobos 2 takes orders from Ecuador’s Los Lobos. The terrorism rules attach to the designated groups, not automatically to a similarly named one. Ecuador, for its part, has run its own cases, such as when it Ecuador Jails 16 Los Lobos Suspects Pending Trial.
What It Means for You
For US investors, refiners and jewellers, the case shows that illegal Andean gold can carry a terrorism-financing risk. Supply-chain checks on Peruvian and Ecuadorian metal are likely to face closer questions.
For US policy watchers, a federal agency in the field suggests Washington is backing Peru’s crackdown on the ground. Neither government has described the scope of that help.
For travellers, the raids were targeted police actions against named suspects in cities and remote mining zones. They do not change conditions in tourist areas such as Lima, Cusco or Machu Picchu.
What Is Not Known
The US participation rests on the Panorama report and has not been independently confirmed. No statement from the US Embassy in Lima or the Fish and Wildlife Service has been found.
It is not known why a wildlife agency took part, or whether a US investigation of illegal gold is running in parallel. How much gold the network moved, and to which buyers, has not been disclosed.
It is not clear whether prosecutors have asked a judge for longer pretrial detention. Caprile’s whereabouts and his response to the allegations remain unknown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which US agency took part in Peru’s raid on Los Lobos 2?
According to Panorama, agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, accompanied the 6 October searches. No US statement has been found.
Who is accused of financing the illegal gold network?
Prosecutors allege that Eduardo Caprile, a 2022 Podemos Perú mayoral candidate in Surco, financed the network. He has not been located and is presumed innocent.
Is Los Lobos 2 on the US terrorism list?
No. The US lists Ecuador’s Los Lobos and Los Choneros as terrorist organisations. Peru has not said Los Lobos 2 is part of the designated group.
Sources: Public Ministry, 6 October; Public Ministry, 7 October; Panamericana Televisión (Panorama); Infobae Perú; Federal Register, FTO designation.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief