In Ecuador, a deadly new gold rush is underway — and it’s being driven not by fortune seekers, but by organized criminal gangs. Across the country, once-remote mining towns have become hotspots for violence, extortion, and exploitation. The lure of gold has turned these areas into battlegrounds, as rival groups fight for control of illegal mining operations, often leaving innocent workers caught in the crossfire.

Nowhere is this crisis more stark than in the country’s mineral-rich provinces, where entire communities are under siege. Armed groups have seized control of mines, forcing laborers to work under brutal conditions and murdering those who resist. In a shocking case that highlights the human cost of this chaos, 49 people, including women and a child, were recently rescued after being held captive in an illegal mine deep underground.

Dan Collyns reports from one of the most dangerous towns in Latin America, offering a rare glimpse into the heart of Ecuador’s criminal mining underworld.