A strong complaint to support indigenous peoples against “the surge in mining activities” and “the destruction and looting” of the Venezuelan Amazon is contained in the joint document “The Venezuelan Amazon: the cry of the earth and the cry of the peoples call for answers”, written by REPAM (the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network) and backed by the Venezuelan Bishops and Caritas Venezuela. The press conference for the presentation of the Document was held yesterday evening (Italian time) at the headquarters of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference. The Document is an appeal “to civil society and institutions to join efforts and become the voice of indigenous peoples who are the victims of increasing mining activities, the violation of basic mining conditions, and environmental exploitation in the Amazon territory, which Venezuela shares with eight countries in the region”. “We denounce the extractive model present in Venezuela – the four-page document received by SIR news agency reads (unabridged version attached) – and in many countries of Latin America and the world, a model that leads to unsustainable development, spiralling impoverishment, a strong dependence on a fluctuating market controlled by transnational corporations, as well as to an unprecedented weakening of national States which remain at the mercy of corporations”. “Mining – they stress – is part of a dominant economic model that separates humanity from nature”. The document recalls that many indigenous and environmental organizations have spoken out against the ongoing destruction of the Amazon. But “the only answer they received was silence and reprisals”, and the news of “massacres and executions” that were perpetrated due to the “high interests at stake”. At the presentation press conference, Mgr. Jose Angel Divasson, President of REPAM Venezuela, stressed that the socio-environmental issue is just one of the many problems faced by indigenous communities: “I witness the suffering of people dying of poisoning from mercury-contaminated water”. And he went on to say: “mine exploitation cannot be the solution to the economic problems of Venezuela”. Even geographer Hector Escandel, REPAM coordinator in the community of Puerto Ayacucho, defined mining as being “part of a predatory development model” which does not “generate welfare but poverty and exclusion”. REPAM calls for a reflection on these issues and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment, in line with the contents of Pope Francis’ Encyclical “Laudato si’”.