GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana has pledged to crack down on gold smuggled across the border from neighboring Venezuela at the urging of the U.S. government.

President Irfaan Ali said late Friday that the government of the South American country is dedicating “enormous resources” to thwart the smuggling, which has long been a problem. He said authorities have increased border patrols and improved monitoring in mining regions.

Local officials have said they suspect that Venezuelan-sanctioned gold is being mixed with gold mined in Guyana and then passed off as local production and sold to markets in the U.S., Canada, the Middle East and elsewhere.

In 2021, the Royal Canadian Mint suspended gold purchases from a major export company in Guyana because officials suspected some shipments had been mixed with Venezuelan gold, an allegation the company denied.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Guyana has suspended the visas of several miners suspected of smuggling Venezuelan gold overseas.

Gold is Guyana’s second most important export after oil, generating nearly $1 billion last year. Some 434,000 ounces of gold were produced last year, up from 432,000 ounces the previous year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. It noted that up to 50% of local gold production is smuggled out of Guyana.

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U.S. Ambassador Nicole Theriot on Friday praised Guyana’s cooperation, noting that the countries have worked together to secure Guyana’s border with Venezuela.

Relations between the two South American neighbors remain tense given a bitter dispute over the Essequibo region, which Venezuela has long claimed as its own. It represents two-thirds of Guyana and is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also is located close to massive offshore oil deposits, with current production averaging some 650,000 barrels daily.