The control functions and public order are no longer the State in this population of the municipality Sifontes, but armed groups.

	This mining is of Guarico state, has more than six years in Las Claritas .............................................. Vocabulary mining town Hand and 'monkey: the leading cigarettes, soft drinks or something to miners. "You give me a hand monkey" refers to gold that you take with the fingertips. Summary: Despite all the gold mined for 15 or 20 days, as provided. Court: of the gold being extracted. Curutelas and Place: place where prostitutes are concentrated. Rescue me: term used when you do not have any money, and mining or give citizens a thousand or 2000 bolivars. ............................................. MORE INFORMATION ■ Governor expresses amazement use of weapons of war in Bolivar state ■ Violence control mines reaches Tumeremo ■ Violence in El Callao and Guasipati leaves 10 dead in four days ■ Mayor of El Callao declare emergency calls in the city

"Where are they going?". "In El Callao," said the driver of the cart by post. "On the right, please," he ordered the cash of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB).

Before completing the investigation, the driver said: "Do not say you are going to El Dorado and Las Claritas because the requisition will be more intense."

The usual movement in Las Claritas, in the municipality Sifontes, at 2:00 in the morning. It is a mining town, with its constant coming and going of people, with the stillness of its air, its enveloping silence, brick soils torn, the sound of the motorbike and the gorge of posters with the same inscription: "I buy gold ".

South gold. Bolivar Gold. Gold one of the largest gold deposits in the country, estimated at about 81.4 million according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines.

There are chance 10 checkpoints to reach the village of Las Claritas at kilometer 88 of the trunk 10: GNB eight and two of the Bolívar State Police (PEB). The reason: to prevent fuel smuggling, drug or weapons swarming around gold deposits south of the region.

But this population seems to live a different from other southern cities like El Callao, Tumeremo and Guasipati, where violence of armed groups for control of the mines has left dozens dead and an exodus of terror in its wake reality. In Las Claritas no murders, fighting, flogging or decimate the population. Are more and more people coming to work from Maracaibo, Caracas, and some of Ciudad Bolivar. All thanks to "peace" that is breathed there.

It is the peace of Las Claritas, peace not imposed order by the forces of the State, but by a group of men who anoint their own opinion of justice with rifle, gunpowder and bullets. Is this the new Pax Romana: Peace Union.

Peace Union

Residents of Las Claritas attribute the peace of the population to men they call the Union: people alert to any irregularities that are present in the village to resolve it. They prefer to be called: mediators or conciliators.

One of these men has more than 10 years in the population. Gold glitters in his fingers and neck, like the rest of the inhabitants. Man golden things work because they put rules from the beginning. "Here you can come to work who wish provided they comply with the rules. They will not come to harm the people and what has been achieved. "

"It is forbidden 'eat light'. You must respect others and rules. Here you can not steal, hit a woman, much less rape, which makes some of it is paid out of the village with its "warns.

He explains that not everyone can go to exploit deposits, "should first talk to us, explain what people bring to work and thus assign four or five guys who are going to care."

Miners

A man in his 40s said they exercised mining in Guyana. "Here you can not exercise mining, it was full of thugs".

Unlike him, he confesses that he is a miner of Guarico state, which has toured various mines of Venezuela, "but does not change the camps of Las Claritas. Here the priceless sure. Here are a lot of security. "

"Here one gets facilities to work. To show right now had 300 000 bolivars in this bag and nobody stole. I bought my things quiet. In other mines there fighting and stuff, but not here. Provided security here. I am happy in Las Claritas "summarized Ramon Barreto, who has more than six years in Las Claritas.

"Some argue that the Union taught fear, I prefer to say 'respect'," said another miner, "thanks to them things work".

The system

The miners perform your search every day, what they get is accumulated in a sack. One of the mediators said that every 15 or 20 days make the abstract, that is, despite all the gold mined during that time.

This is divided equally among the miners, caregivers, cooks, owners of the mine and a portion is given to mediators. There is no requirement on the part of these men with the miners, "whatever they want to, be it a program or more than two depends entirely on those. What they give is used for things the town, repairs, medicines, among other things. "

When the summary is quite high, three programs are designed to mediators and three for members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB).

A gram of gold in Las Claritas is 10 billion bolivars in Tumeremo purchase is 10 000 700.

As for the subject prepared by the mediators for the care of the miners, some confess that very little seen, but know they are there, alert to any situation, as guardians of the people. As the new champions of peace. The breath between gold and blood and bullets that run the mines. Today uniforms GNB and PEB are little more than a stigma. The picture of a fractured state to the armed bands. The track, which recalls the time when, sometime, at some point in history, public policy was in their hands.

• Callao
• GNB
• Las Claritas
• The Golden
• miner
• Ministry of Petroleum and Mines
• roncal 10
• kilometer 88