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Anastasia

@anastasia-austin.bsky.social

3K followers 620 following 66 posts

Freelance investigative journalist and security analyst in LatAm focusing on organized crime, corruption, and the people who fight it. Former InSight Crime investigator. Read my work: https://muckrack.com/anastasia-austin-1

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Dec 22

For those interested in following the journey of two journalists cycling through the Andes, @douwedenheld.bsky.social and my project has finally launched!

OffMap Media @offmapmedia.bsky.social · Dec 22

Hi Bluesky! 👋

We’re OffMap Media - an independent journalism project by two reporters cycling through the Andes.

Expect notes from the field, photos, and stories from the road.

Learn more about us and read our latest Field Dispatch here: open.substack.com/pub/offmapme...

OffMap Media | Douwe | Substack

On-the-ground reporting, analysis, and storytelling from two investigative journalists cycling through South America. Click to read OffMap Media, a Substack publication. Launched 2 days ago.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Anastasia

Richard McColl @londomomposino.bsky.social · 11d

U.S. Says It Will Revoke Colombian President’s Visa www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/u...

U.S. Says It Will Revoke Colombian President’s Visa

www.nytimes.com

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

Final word on this -- there's a lot of analysis (rightfully so) about what this strike will mean for Noboa. But I think its a pivotal moment for CONAIE itself which has had a rough year bit.ly/3G2JLjj

Ecuador’s Indigenous movement splinters over presidential election support

Indigenous voters likely hold the key to the April 13 election. But internal divisions may cost them their influence.

bit.ly

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

4. And (of course) bringing back the diesel subsidy. This one unites indigenous communities, transport workers, and social organizations who view it as an attack on Ecuador's poorest populations. It's also a common rallying cry for CONAIE's biggest strikes.

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

3. Reduction of VAT from 15% to 12% and strengthening of public health and education systems. The VAT was raised last year, but the funds went primarily towards Noboa's war on gangs, while other institutions continue to suffer from a dearth of resources.

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

2. No constituent assembly referendum. Amidst repeated clashes with Ecuador's Constitutional Court, Noboa proposed a constitutional convention to rewrite the country's top law. The idea is on hold, for now, but CONAIE is demanding its scrapped permanently

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

1. A stop to Noboa's mining and oil expansion. Noboa has pushed hard for extractivist projects, often playing fast and loose with requirements in Ecuador's constitution, which has some of the strongest environmental and indigenous protections in the world. bit.ly/4oqd3Kr

Tapirs, hummingbirds and a billion-dollar bedrock of gold: the Ecuador reserve that is now a battlefield over a new mine

A licence to dig in the Cajas region has been welcomed by some as an answer to economic woes. Yet many fear it will devastate a fragile ecosystem and set the tone for further projects in the country

bit.ly

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 13d

Last week, the CONAIE in Ecuador called its first national strike since 2022. A lot of media are calling it a "strike over the diesel subsidy cut." But while diesel was the trigger, the region's most powerful indigenous federation's list of demands is much longer, including... 🧵

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · 28d

Last week, the US designated Ecuadorian gangs, the Lobos and the Choneros as terrorist organizations, even while promising nearly US$20 million to “wage war against these vicious animals, these terrorists.”

Source: www.npr.org/2025/09/04/n...

Rubio pledges US aid for Ecuador, to ‘wage war’ on gangs in drug fight

The move, which includes US$20 million in security aid and drones, aims to bolster Ecuador’s fight against drug cartels.

cepr.us1.list-manage.com

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Aug 14

A Canadian lawyer just filed a complaint against Dundee Precious Metals before the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for misleading shareholders about the Loma Larga #mining project in #Ecuador.

The complaint cites our report for @theguardian.com

bit.ly/4oqd3Kr

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Aug 7

For more on this story -- check out my recent piece in the Guardian with @douwedenheld.bsky.social : bit.ly/4oqd3Kr

Tapirs, hummingbirds and a billion-dollar bedrock of gold: the Ecuador reserve that is now a battlefield over a new mine

A licence to dig in the Cajas region has been welcomed by some as an answer to economic woes. Yet many fear it will devastate a fragile ecosystem and set the tone for further projects in the country

bit.ly

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Aug 7

Local government continues to oppose the project, with #Cuenca's mayor saying "putting the project on pause: is not enough

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Aug 7

Breaking |Ecuador's mining ministry announced it will suspend the Loma Larga project in #Ecuador until Dundee Precious Metals publishes an environmental management plan. This represents a step back after the Noboa administration pushed through the company's environmental license just last month

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Nate Blouin @nateforutah.bsky.social · Apr 5

This is Utah in case anyone’s wondering how pissed off people are. I have never seen anything like this.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · Apr 5

Upon learning that your own mistake sent an innocent father to a brutal prison where he’s likely to be tortured, anyone with a shred of decency would be overcome with shame and fight like hell to get him back.

They think it’s funny.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 31

“They are all here,” a lady running a little shop on one of these roads told us. “The military comes through during the day, and when they go home in the evening, the others come out. I serve everyone - what else can I do?”

Read our latest on OffMap Media: bit.ly/3Yc3Nhz

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 30

Read it here! www.offmap.media/p/colombias-...

TBD #4: Colombia's Contested Landscapes

Cycling from Murillo to Ibagué, we confront perceptions of insecurity in a country scarred by conflict and struggle to figure out what's real... and what's prejudice.

www.offmap.media

Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 30

🚨New Article | Our latest for @offmapmedia.bsky.social explores the tricky balance between navigating real danger in Colombia’s countryside and not getting sucked into the prejudices and anxieties that have accumulated over decades of civil conflict.

#Colombia #FARC-EP #ELN #security

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 25

The Trump administration is like Hitler’s Germany — a fascist state. Except when it’s like Springtime for Hitler — an absurdist parody of itself. @theatlantic.com @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 19

I wish democrats in the US would pay attention, instead of worrying about bipartisanship, “waiting for the fever to break”, and getting vulnerable with their gym buddies or whatever it is Chuck Schumer is doing.

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Richard McColl @londomomposino.bsky.social · Mar 14

youtube.com/shorts/uI9OA...

Surviving a gold mine collapse

YouTube video by Richard McColl

youtube.com

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Reposted by Anastasia

Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · Mar 13

I realise people like to dunk on COP in general and Brazil's determination to hold COP30 in a city without adequate infrastructure in particular, but this story about a new road "cutting through the Amazon" seems out of proportion to me… (see gif)

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Reposted by Anastasia

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · Mar 13

Bellingcat's Environmental Investigation team is looking for story pitches that use open-source investigation techniques to investigate environmental issues. We offer payment for stories, so if you've been working on a story and want to get paid, look here:
www.bellingcat.com/uncategorize...

Pitch Wildlife and Environmental investigations to Bellingcat - bellingcat

If your source material is online and public, and your story unearths something deeper about our planet, we'd love to hear from you.

www.bellingcat.com

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Richard McColl @londomomposino.bsky.social · Mar 13

We discussing the influence of the AGC or Gaitanistas, Colombia’s largest, most powerful criminal group in the gold mining industry in Segovia, Antioquia, on next week’s Colombia Calling podcast.

Not to be missed! Tune in their podcast below.

open.spotify.com/show/3DdNcFZ...

InSight Crime | From the Ground Up

Podcast · InSight Crime · We have spent the last 15 years investigating organized crime in the Americas from the ground up. Now, on our audio channel, you can hear the best of our investigative and a...

open.spotify.com

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · Mar 13

Yesterday, I published an investigation into a secretive & abusive NYPD unit led by Mayor Eric Adams’ buddies.

Adams has embraced the unit, the Community Response Team, even after NYPD officials raised red flags.

This is what that has wrought.

**All caught on video we obtained.**

THREAD.

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Anastasia @anastasia-austin.bsky.social · Mar 10

New article out! It’s part of my favorite series — “In their own words” — interviews with people we meet on our trip translated and edited for clarity - that’s it.

This latest one is with a Colombian bike mechanic who does it for the love of the game. Check it out!

www.offmap.media/p/tomas-isaz...

Tomás Isaza: "For me, it is the best race there is."

A Bike Shop, a Race, and One Mechanic’s Fight for Community

open.substack.com