13 miners found dead in Pataz, Peru: Murdered by criminals in brutal attack
Thirteen miners from Minera Poderosa were found dead in Pataz, Peru, after being kidnapped by criminals involved in illegal mining.
In a devastating and shocking event, thirteen Minera Poderosa miners in Pataz, Peru, were kidnapped and murdered by criminals involved in illegal mining. This news comes in spite of the province being under a declared state of emergency, and their bodies were only recovered after several days of looking for them.
The miners were contracted and working with an artisan miner in the area, and they were reportedly tortured and abused while being held captive. The news has sparked outrage and demands to guarantee site security by the government.
13 workers from Minera Poderosa were killed in Peru
Pataz, Peru has experienced a distressing spike in crime following the kidnapping and murder of 13 miners working for Minera Poderosa. The victims were working for a small-scale, artisanal miner under contract with Minera Poderosa to extract gold.
The Pataz municipality is currently in a state of emergency, as declared by the government. The kidnapping incident started on April 25, 2025.
The murdered miners' bodies were found after searching in tunnels of Pataz for days. Relatives of the miners asserted that all the miners had been bound and tortured during captivity.
Despite the deaths of the miners, neither César Acuña, regional governor of La Libertad, nor the government of Dina Boluarte have accepted responsibility for the deaths of the miners. The Peruvian National Police (PNP) discovered two more bodies, but it is still unclear whether these belong to the 13 miners originally reported missing.
Minera Poderosa published a statement denouncing the attack, citing the increase in insecurity in the area of Pataz despite the imposition of a state of emergency. The company argued that the miners were being kidnapped by illegal miners who had been working with a criminal sector.
The company explained that the police response was disappointing since the police were able to mobilize more than 800 police officers in an operation that was not dedicated to illegal mining operations, even though the miners were kidnapped very close to places identified as illegal mining operations.
What are the name of the dead miners found in Pataz?
The identities of at least eight of the 13 kidnapped miners have been confirmed by local media in La Libertad.
- Nilver Joel Pérez Chuquipoma
- César Rospigliosi Arellano
- Frank Jesús Monzón Valeriano
- Jhon Cristian Facundo Inga
- Franklin Vicente Facundo Inga
- Josué Carbonell Beltrán
- Alexander Domínguez
- Juan Ñaupari Salva
- Darwin Javier Coveñas Panta
Peruvian government sparked skepticism about Pataz massacre
Before the confirmation of the workers' deaths, the Boluarte government cast doubt on the authenticity of the abduction claims. Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén claimed to withhold from Minera Poderosa when, at the time, the company denied the workers were owned by them.
He alleged that security forces had received no official reports verifying the abduction, although there were previous statements for the filing that the incident occurred according to claims.
The father of Deyter Abraham Domínguez Ramírez, one of the murdered miners, made a disturbing comment that some of them were possibly tortured.
He revealed that his son, a security worker for R&R had contacted them last on April 25, 2025, but there had been no contact since and death was later confirmed.
