Authorities from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru have executed a substantial coordinated campaign against environmental crime in the Amazon rainforest. Known as Operation Green Shield 2026, this initiative took place from July 15-31. It involved over 3,600 officers focused on illegal mining, logging, wildlife trafficking, fuel smuggling, and land grabbing throughout the Amazon Basin.
During the operation, police made 839 arrests through 1,045 field actions. They seized more than 280,000 cubic meters (9.9 million cubic feet) of illegally harvested timber, equating to about 110 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Additionally, they confiscated 195 metric tons of minerals and equipment used for illegal mining, including gold, carbon, iron, and copper. The authorities also rescued over 3,000 live animals and recovered at least 430 deceased animals involved in wildlife trafficking. These included snakes, birds, lizards, and fish.
Environmental crime has become one of the most profitable illicit industries in the Amazon, driven by global demand for gold, timber, and wildlife. Investigators indicate that criminal organizations frequently merge illegal mining, logging, and wildlife trafficking, utilizing shared trafficking routes and financial networks that operate across national borders. This has underscored the importance of cross-border cooperation as criminal groups often transport people and goods to evade law enforcement.
Operation Green Shield 2026 was coordinated from Bogota, the capital of Colombia, by the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC). This initiative was launched with the support of the United Arab Emirates and in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Its objective is to enhance global collaboration against environmental crime.
In 2025, a similar multinational operation involving Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru engaged more than 1,500 officers. The operation was one of the first extensive endeavors to synchronize intelligence sharing and enforcement across borders against environmental crime. This year’s campaign expanded to include Bolivia and featured synchronized deployments in remote border and river areas.
Col. Dana Humaid, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau at the UAE Ministry of Interior, stated that collaboration is crucial to counter transnational crime and emphasized that joint efforts by law enforcement agencies yield stronger results.
The combined value of the goods seized during Operation Green Shield 2026 exceeded $280 million. Colombian National Police Director Gen. William Oswaldo Rincón Zambrano remarked that the operation demonstrated how intelligence sharing can transform into coordinated enforcement. “Protecting our natural resources requires a shared response,” he noted. Similarly, Peruvian police environmental chief Gen. J. Manuel Cruz Chamba declared that environmental crimes transcend borders and thus necessitate international cooperation.
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