World
Six people dead after alleged dynamite attack in Bolivia gold-mining clash
The dynamite attack is thought to be the result of two mining collectives fighting over access to gold deposits.
A clash between gold-mining operations in Bolivia has resulted in an explosion that killed six people, according to authorities.
Thursday’s blast rocked the Yani mining camp approximately 150 kilometres – or 90 miles – northwest of the country’s administrative capital, La Paz.
“There are six dead, and we have reports of missing persons,” said Jhonny Silva, a representative from one of the mining groups involved, the Hijos de Ingenio Mining Cooperative.
That mining collective reportedly brawled with another group, known as Senor de Mayo, in a dynamite-laden fight over access to a gold mining area. The explosion left houses damaged and the town of Sorata without power.
“They have blown up machinery with dynamite, even a diesel tank,” Silva said of the rival cooperative.
Collectives developped in Bolivia as an alternative to state-run and private enterprises. Critics have accused those large companies of providing unstable employment for low-income mining workers, their jobs hinging on market fluctuations.
The collectives started to crop up in the wake of several economic crises, particularly in 1985, when international mineral prices fell and the state-owned mining company Corporación Minera de Bolivia (COMIBOL) temporarily shuttered.
That left tens of thousands of Bolivian miners without jobs. As Bolivia’s mines were privatised, the collectives offered a space for the miners to self-organise. Some would eventually extract tin, silver, gold and zinc to sell to private businesses.
Collectives now represent the majority of mining workers, outnumbering their counterparts at COMIBOL and in the private sector. They therefore wield significant political power, despite their relatively modest ability to extract minerals, compared to big companies.
Estimates put the number of gold-mining collectives at about 1,600. But critics of the cooperative system warn that there are few safeguards in place for workers, who are exposed to toxic conditions in the extraction process.
Opponents also note that – while cooperatives are legal – some of their mining activity is not, and that can lead to environmental destruction and pollution.
The informal nature of the work has also led to deadly clashes, both over access to mining sites and the markets in which to sell the metals and raise investments.
The fights sometimes involve COMIBOL workers and security forces. The state-run company has become Bolivia’s largest company, propelled in part by favourable policies under former socialist President Evo Morales, who led the country from 2006 to 2019.
In 2012, for instance, tensions between COMIBOL and the collectives led to road blockages and a deadly dynamite attack in La Paz.
Thursday’s dynamite attack between the collectives, however, was simmering for years, according to Silva.
Colonel Gunther Agudo, a local police officer, told local media that the dynamite attack “caused an explosion of great magnitude”.
“We’re continuing the rescue efforts,” he said.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The United Kingdom on Monday blamed an Iran-linked proxy group for a string of antisemitic arson attacks targeting British Jewish sites, prompting the government to ban Tehran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and impose sweeping new powers to crack down on foreign-backed sabotage.
British officials said the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year targeting Jewish and Israeli-linked locations, as well as a Persian-language media outlet critical of Iran’s government. According to the U.K. government, members of the IRGC’s elite Qods Force were “almost certainly” directing the group’s operations across Europe.
The attacks included fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and other Jewish community sites in London. No injuries were reported.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO USE NEW STATE LAW TO TARGET DOZENS OF ALLEGED TERRORIST GROUPS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a reception with the Jewish community to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street, in London, July 13, 2026. (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new measures send a clear message to foreign adversaries seeking to sow violence.
“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer discusses efforts to tackle antisemitism at Downing Street in London, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)
If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf of the IRGC, IMCR or Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.
The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operations inside the United Kingdom.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said. “I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.”
ISRAEL FORTIFIES BORDER WITH JORDAN AS IRAN SEEKS NEW TERROR PATH
The government said IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. British intelligence officials say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly recruited members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage, intimidation and physical attacks across Europe, often targeting Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents.
Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in London, March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
According to the U.K., MI5 identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots against individuals in Britain over the past year. The government has already sanctioned more than 550 Iranian-linked individuals and entities and has pledged £250 million ($334,662,500) over three years to strengthen security for Jewish communities, including increased protection for synagogues, schools and community centers.
Britain also designated Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, saying the group acts as a proxy for Russian military intelligence by recruiting individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson and other hostile operations.
The crackdown comes just weeks after two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television station in London, an attack a British judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Iran did not immediately comment on Monday’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on
The European Union has sanctioned VK Company, which dominates Russia’s online sphere, for colluding with the Kremlin to identify critics of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and curtail access to independent sources of information.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
VK Company runs VKontakte, the country’s most popular social media site. Often described as “the Russian Facebook”, it has an estimated 70 million users.
The decision, taken on Monday by foreign ministers, points the finger at VK Company and an associated firm for developing and managing Max App, which is state-backed and comes pre-installed on all phones and tablets sold in Russia.
Citing experts, Brussels argues that Max App has “extensive surveillance features” that Russian authorities use to track online communications, gather data, monitor address books, identify user location and install autonomous updates.
The imposition of Max App has helped the state crack down on competitors, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, and on VPNs, the private networks that Russians employ to bypass increasingly stringent state restrictions on the Internet.
“VK has cooperated with Russian authorities in their repressive actions, including by providing them with data concerning users of its services who posted content criticising Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, or other content banned by the authorities,” the legal text says.
“VK has also participated in the government-ordered ban on the use of VPNs, through which Russian internet users could previously access independent content.”
Monday’s decision introduces an asset freeze and prohibits EU companies from making funds available to VK Company. In a statement to Russian state-owned media outlet TASS, the firm said that its applications and services remained “available to users as normal”.
Besides VK Company, the EU also sanctioned Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans, three companies that provide hardware and software for the so-called System of Operative Investigative Measures that Russian authorities use to track online communication and target journalists, opposition figures, minority groups and ordinary citizens.
The restrictions were adopted under a special regime dedicated to punishing human rights violations.
Separately, the EU sanctionednine individuals and four entities accused of carrying out “malicious” cyber attacks against several member states.
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoRitzy Pasadena hotel settles lawsuit for allegedly price gouging wildfire victims
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoBrother Nature at Night: Jack’s backyard & kayaking the Huron River
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoHardin Fire in Napa County burns 55 acres near Pope Valley
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoFormer Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa runs for Dallas Mayor
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoSouth Florida mother arrested for leaving daughter chained to fence, police say
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoBoston man charged after allegedly assaulting Burger King employee, punching customer
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship, becomes first in family to attend college
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoSeattle very much in running for another World Cup
