With court's backing, Ecuador's indigenous block Amazon mining

Members of the A'i Cofan community walk to harvest yuca plants near the banks of the Aguarico River in Ecuador's Amazon, where indigenous groups were granted power to block mining projects after a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court, in Sinangoe, Ecuador March 5, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Alarcon

SINANGOE, Ecuador (Reuters) - Armed with spears, their faces painted, members of the A'i Cofan community's indigenous guard prepare to patrol the banks of the Aguarico River in Ecuador's Amazon, ready to confiscate equipment and call in the police if they find miners on their ancestral land.

"We go down (the river) and document all the people who have entered," guard coordinator Nixon Andy, 24, said. "When we come across strangers on our territory we speak peacefully, but if there isn't respect there are authorities to whom we can report."