Environmental and Health Crisis in Huasco Due to Coal Power Plants: Unveiling the Path of Industrial Coal Exploitation from Colombia to Chile

The Path of Coal from Colombia to Chile: Two Territories, One Energy Sacrifice

From Yukpa to Huasco: Coal Violates Indigenous Rights and Sickens Chile Without Response from State or Companies

A groundbreaking cross-border investigation uncovers how coal extracted from the ancestral lands of the Yukpa indigenous people in Colombia travels over 6,000 kilometers to be burned in the power plants of Huasco, Chile, causing both environmental destruction and human rights violations. Two communities—the Yukpa in the Colombian Caribbean and the residents of Huasco—bear the brunt of this energy model that marginalizes them. As documented in the report by Mongabay Latam titled “From Colombia to Chile: The Forgotten Peoples Sustaining Coal Energy”, by Antonio Paz and Michelle Carrere (published May 19, 2026), «the Yukpa, a semi-nomadic indigenous people whose ancestral lands were opened for mining without their consent, and the residents of Huasco, who breathe the toxic emissions from burned coal,” sustain the energy that powers millions without receiving any benefits.

Yukpa Indigenous People: Devastated Territory and an Absent Consultation

In Colombia, the Yukpa people—declared at risk of physical and cultural extinction by the Constitutional Court since 2009—have seen open-pit mines operated by Drummond Ltd. and Prodeco S.A. (a subsidiary of Glencore) consume their sacred sites and devastate their food sources. According to a report by Antonio Paz Cardona for Climate Tracker LATAM titled The Long Legal Journey of the Yukpa Indigenous People to Repair the Impacts of Coal Mining, «the Yukpa assert that the Ministry of the Interior has denied their indigenous presence in the mining area.

In a 2023 ruling, the Colombian Constitutional Court confirmed that «the exploitation of coal mines has a direct impact on the Yukpa people, observable in the effects on rivers, air quality, and biodiversity.» Nonetheless, the prior consultation mandated by the court ended without agreements. Tulia Restrepo Pérez, an indigenous member of the Misión Sokorpa community, told Mongabay: «Mining has destroyed everything. The wildlife has disappeared. Nowadays, we have no fishing resources.»

Drummond, which claims 47% of the Colombian coal market according to its president, José Miguel Linares, completed its prior consultation process in September 2024 without consensus. In a statement cited by the investigation, the company stated, «no direct impacts caused by the company were identified.» However, the Yukpa reported that the meetings mostly excluded many communities. Esneda Saavedra, a Yukpa leader and former advisor to the ONIC, asserted: «The consultations have been completely negative; there are no guarantees for families.» Meanwhile, Prodeco—now inactive but facing an international arbitration case against Colombia for $59.4 million—argued that «it was not deemed necessary to include measures for ethnic reparation.» The Public Defender’s Office noted that the business proposals were perceived by the community as generic and not aligned with the standards mandated by the court ruling.

Huasco: The Sacrifice Zone Breathing Coal Without Plant Closures

At the southern end of this route, Huasco—a commune in northern Chile—is one of the five so-called «sacrifice zones» in the country and the only one where no coal power plants have been closed, nor are there dates committed for closure. There, the five Guacolda Energía SpA plants—owned by the Capital Advisors group—burn imported coal, including that sourced from Yukpa territory. According to customs data cited by Michelle Carrere in “The People Who Paid the Price for Energy in Chile, May 19, 2026, Chile imported over 4 million tons of coal in 2025, of which more than a million arrived at Huasco’s port—with half of that sourced from Ciénaga, Colombia, operated by Drummond.

The black dust covering roofs, windows, and plants in Huasco contains particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, heavy metals like mercury, nickel, and vanadium, along with cadmium, arsenic, and lead. Scientific studies have documented that these emissions can cause cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory issues, and cognitive damage in children. An investigation by the public health department at the Catholic University, commissioned by Chile Sustentable, found that in 2016, Huasco residents had a 71% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to the national average. Nevertheless, the Chilean Ministry of Health has yet to conduct cohort studies to demonstrate direct causality, and companies have used that gap as a defense.

No Official Responses and a Stalled Environmental Regulation

Residents of Huasco have been organizing for years to defend themselves. Carmen Castillo Villalobos, a farmer from the Huasco valley, reports that eight of her daughter’s classmates have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a rate much higher than expected. «They ignore us,» she says. «They don’t see us.» Her husband, Alex Gajardo Araya, describes how acid rain generated by sulfur dioxide burns the flowers of ancient olive trees: «Everyone knows that effect; it’s repeated in all chemistry classes in high school.» Despite at least 13 monitoring stations in the commune, researchers agree that the available data is insufficient. Yuri Carvajal, president of the Environment Department of the Medical College of Chile, states: «The state has very few measurement stations. Most are from the companies themselves.»

The newly installed president, José Antonio Kast, withdrew the updated Emission Standard for Coal-Fired Power Plants from the Comptroller’s office, which the previous government had approved in 2025. This regulation aimed to eliminate the distinction between old and new plants, compelling units like Guacolda (inaugurated in 1995 and 1996) to comply with stricter standards. The organization Chile Sustentable, which participated in the standard’s drafting, asserts that «they [Guacolda] fought until the end.»

Meanwhile, Guacolda Energía SpA has not responded to Mongabay Latam’s inquiries about their closure or conversion plans, and the Ministry of the Environment has also not commented on the deficiencies of the monitoring system. As Andrea Cisternas, a producer from the valley, sums up: «It’s a shame that a farmer has to become a lawyer, a fisherman has to become an engineer, and a baker has to become an industrialist to defend their territories.»

La entrada Environmental and Health Crisis in Huasco Due to Coal Power Plants: Unveiling the Path of Industrial Coal Exploitation from Colombia to Chile se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.