Overview
- Gendarmería officers detained four Chilean nationals at the El Zancarrón mine in San Juan, which they located Thursday at about 3,550 meters near the Chile border.
- The men had crossed into Argentina without authorization and tried to use a .22 carbine when confronted by the patrol.
- Agents seized raw gold, 14 bags of extracted rock, mining tools such as picks and shovels, and the pickup used to move the material.
- The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of San Juan ordered the arrests on charges of attempted export contraband of gold, illegal entry, and illegal possession of a firearm.
- The mine has seen repeated incursions in recent years, with prior seizures and convictions that point to ongoing enforcement challenges in this remote high‑altitude zone.