Crackdown reveals ‘industrial-scale’ wildlife and timber trafficking across Latin America

Authorities across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries have arrested hundreds of people and recovered more than 1,000 animals as part of a two-month coordinated operation against environmental crimes. Operation Madre Tierra was the eighth edition of a recurring Interpol-led initiative, and was conducted in June and July in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Investigators found illegal timber and wildlife trafficking networks operating on an “industrial scale” along the corridor connecting Central and South America, Interpol announced in a press release. Many of the products were destined for markets in Europe and Asia, where South American wildlife is in demand as pets. Reptiles, rare insects, and exotic birds were the most commonly seized live wildlife. In Mexico, authorities seized several big cats along routes used by drug traffickers, including two endangered Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris), one of them a rare white tiger, as well as lions (Panthera leo), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and jaguars (Panthera onca). In Nicaragua, authorities confiscated several birds, including parrots and red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus), that are protected under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. They also seized about 165 kilograms (364 pounds) of dried shark fins, thought to be destined for the Asian market, where they could have fetched $280,000. Investigators also traced financial transactions to identify how criminals profited while evading detection. “Following the money, whether from an illegal gold mine in Panama to a buyer in North America, Europe or Asia, helps a case move beyond the individuals physically harvesting the timber, handling the animal or extracting the gold and focuses on the companies that finance, manage and profit from the trade,” Krandall Gullock, head of Interpol’s regional bureau for Central America, said in a statement. In Colombia, Interpol expanded on a 2025 operation into industrial-scale deforestation tied to more than 170 companies accused of illegally clearing 52,000 hectares (128,500 acres) of protected forest in the Amazon Basin. They arrested 16 people. In Costa Rica, authorities seized about 4.6 metric tons of cyanide and 11 containers of mercury, used in illegal gold mining; both are toxic to wildlife and human health. In all, the operation led to 233 arrests and identified 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) of illegally cleared forests. “These cases demonstrate the transnational nature of environmental crime,” said Thomas Ungerbuehler, Interpol’s assistant director of environmental security. Operations such as Madre Tierra “highlight the importance of sustained international cooperation to identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks driving this trade and threatening global biodiversity.” Collaborative enforcement operations like Madre Tierra motivate agencies in different countries to work together to tackle crimes against the environment, Sheldon Jordan, a wildlife crime enforcement expert who previously worked with Interpol, told Mongabay in an interview. He added that intelligence gathered during these efforts can also help prevent crime and dismantle transnational criminal networks. Banner image: Red-and-green macaws in Brazil. Image © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com (CC BY-SA 4.0). Credits Topics