Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Organized crime and illicit economies emerged in 2025 as major drivers worsening deforestation across the Amazon, despite partial gains in environmental enforcement in some countries in the region.
Recent reports by environmental groups and regional research centers say illegal gold mining, indiscriminate logging, drug trafficking and irregular expansion of cattle ranching are causing large-scale forest loss and progressive landscape degradation.
These activities also facilitate money laundering and the convergence of illicit, informal and formal economies, particularly in remote areas with weak state presence.
Roughly the size of the United States, the Amazon spans nine Latin American countries: Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. About 60% lies in Brazil, followed by Peru with 9.9%, Colombia with 6.7% and Venezuela with 6.3%.
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