According to research from the London School of Economics, in Venezuela's Orinoco Mining Arc (OMA), the armed forces – tasked with state security – are actively involved in illegal mining operations. Established to promote mining development, the OMA granted special powers to the military, including control over security zones directly administered by the Ministry of Defence. Rather than curbing violence, this militarisation has entrenched criminality, with state agents allegedly collaborating with local sindicatos (criminal gangs) and Colombian armed groups. Military personnel reportedly sell fuel to these groups, operate checkpoints along illicit transport routes to extort bribes in cash and gold, and facilitate the smuggling of minerals by enabling clandestine flights out of the country. These operations suggest a systematic pattern of corruption and complicity, though rather than one centralised structure, multiple military factions and individuals appear to engage in and profit from different aspects of the illegal mining economy.