Peru says suspect in miner killings arrested in Colombia

LIMA (Reuters) -Peru's interior ministry said on Thursday that a suspect in the killing of 13 miners in the northern district of Pataz has been arrested in Colombia.

The ministry said in a post on X that the arrest of Miguel Rodriguez, alias "Cuchillo" or "Knife," followed extensive intelligence work and coordination between the Peruvian and Colombian National Police and Interpol.

Earlier this month, workers at a gold mine in northern Peru were kidnapped and murdered by illegal miners that were allied with criminal groups, according to police and industry sources, among a wave of violence over control of the area, which has forced the government to establish a military facility there.

A lawyer for the suspect, Kevin Diaz, told local radio station RPP that his client had been in Venezuela for "a few days" before returning to Colombia, where he was arrested.

Rodriguez had previously denied involvement in the killings in an interview with a local television station.

Illegal mining in Peru, mainly for gold, has begun moving more money than drug trafficking, between $3 billion and $4 billion, per year, according to the government.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Natalia Siniawski and Rafael Escalera Montoto; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)

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