Organized as "Guardians of the Lagunas," campesinos in Cajamarca, Peru, have established an encampment to maintain round-the-clock vigilance at the proposed site of US-backed Yanacocha company's Conga gold mine. The effort was launched in response to reports of construction work at the concession bloc, despite official assurances that the project is suspended. Volunteering through the village rondas (self-defense patrols), the campesinos monitor activities at the high-altitude lakes that would have to be destroyed for the project to proceed. 

Photo: Vilma Rodríguez Chihuán, Celendín Libre

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