Thirty-five Greenpeace activists were arrested by federal police and taken to Police Station No. 2 in Buenos Aires. Two of the activists were climbing the 12 meters high mast with the national flag in front of Casa Rosada (the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri) displaying a banner with the message “Macri cerra’ Veladero” (Macri close Veladero).

The activists were released after spending several hours at the police station.

The action, targeting Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold mining company in the world, is to ask the national government to effectively carry out the Glacier Law, perform the appropriate inventory to determine where there are glaciers and periglacial areas and close the Veladero mine. With its latest measures, the government has made it clear that it grants privileges to the mining activity on the preservation of these ecosystems, which are extremely important water sources for Argentina.