Archive · 10 Dec 2025
Indigenous Guard Unites to Protect Amazon Territories
Indigenous Guard members from Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru recently met in Sinangoe, Ecuador, to plan how to better protect their ancestral lands in the Amazon.
They face threats like illegal mining, logging, and drug trafficking.
The Indigenous Guard, which includes both men and women, focuses on monitoring and patrolling their territories to keep outsiders away.
They sometimes ask for help from armed forces when they need it.
In Peru, these guards have been successful in stopping illegal fishing and territory invasions.
Their work is important for preserving their lands and way of life.
About 200 Indigenous Guard members from Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru gathered in Sinangoe, Ecuador, to strategize the defense of their ancestral lands.
The Indigenous Guard focuses on monitoring, patrolling, and avoiding conflict to protect their territories from illegal activities.
In Sinangoe, the A’i Cofan community has been fighting large-scale mining since 2017 to preserve the Aguarico River.
Peru has about 300 Indigenous Guards spread across 24 Amazonian communities, successful in tackling illegal fishing and territory invasions.
The guards occasionally request support from armed forces when they encounter situations they cannot manage themselves.
- Who
- Indigenous Guard members from Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru
- What
- A gathering to strategize the defense of ancestral lands
- When
- Early December 2023
- Where
- Sinangoe, Ecuador (border with Colombia)
- Why
- To protect their territories from illegal activities and invasions
- Location
- Sinangoe, Ecuador (border with Colombia)
- Participants
- 200 members from Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru
- Threats Faced
- Illegal mining, logging, drug trafficking, armed groups, forced gang recruitment, extortion
- Primary Focus
- Monitoring, patrolling, and avoiding conflict
- Indigenous Groups Involved
- A’i Cofan, Shipibo-Konibo
- Peru's Indigenous Guards
- 300 guards across 24 Amazonian communities