A 3-Year Intelligence Operation on the Criminal Drivers Behind Amazon Deforestation. Cattle Ranching, Cocaine and Gold 2025 was for ELI the culmination of more than 3 years of intelligence operations in the Colombian Amazon. Since 2022, through Operation ENCANTO, ELI has undertaken an extensive field investigation in Colombia to gather intelligence on the main players and […]
At Earth League International (ELI), most of our work happens far from the public eye — undercover, inside criminal networks, and within ongoing intelligence operations that cannot be publicly discussed. For that reason, moments when our Founder and Executive Director, Andrea Crosta, can openly share how this journey began, and how it evolved into infiltrating […]
Inside Climate News Interviews ELI’s Andrea Crosta on the Criminal Networks Driving the Vaquita’s Decline and the Role of Mexican Drug Cartels In this in-depth interview, ELI’s Andrea Crosta reveals how Operation Fake Gold has identified 23 transnational trafficking networks and more than 300 persons of interest behind the illegal totoaba trade that is pushing […]
In this op-ed for Americas Quarterly, ELI’s Andrea Crosta exposes how transnational criminal organizations like FARC-D and PCC have made environmental crime—illegal mining, logging, wildlife trafficking, and more—a central part of their criminal operations. Highlighting the concept of “environmental crime convergence,” Crosta explains how these illicit activities now generate billions in revenue, threaten ecosystems and […]
My dear Jane, It’s been two weeks since you left us, and despite the time that has passed, I still find it difficult to write, and even to speak, about you. The sadness is still there, though now it’s mixed with deep gratitude for everything you brought into my life and into the world. Right […]
Earth League International (ELI) participated in the Jackson Wild Summit, held in Grand Teton National Park. After having contributed to several panels at previous editions of the Summit, ELI’s founder and executive director, Andrea Crosta, served this year as producer and moderator of the investigative journalism panel. The panel, titled “Investigative Journalism: Courage in […]
What if the official number of Amur tigers isn’t accurate? What’s really happening with the Amur tiger population? While official reports celebrate the Amur tiger as a Russian conservation success story, new evidence suggests a troubling disconnect between perception and reality. Through ELI’s WildLeaks initiative, whistleblowers submitted a series of anonymous tips that raised serious concerns about […]
ELI recently endorsed the open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council calling for stronger action against corruption’s impact on human rights. This advocacy effort achieved a significant milestone with the Human Rights Council adopted the latest resolution on this issue. The resolution’s call for comprehensive anti-corruption guidelines provides a framework to strengthen environmental law enforcement, safeguard […]
ELI joined several leading environmental and anti-corruption organizations in urging the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to withdraw its Interim Final Rule that drastically weakens the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) — a law intended to crack down on anonymous shell companies. From illegal gold mining in the Amazon to the trafficking of endangered […]
Earth League International (ELI) Executive Director Andrea Crosta has published an informative op-ed in Mongabay that shines a light on one of the most overlooked yet dangerous systems fueling transnational crime today: “Flying Money.” Known as feiqian in Chinese, “Flying Money” is an informal, largely invisible banking network that has evolved into a sophisticated money laundering […]
