Explotación del Arco Minero generó grave contaminación en los ríos

LAS CLARITAS, VENEZUELA - JULY 20, 2016: Thousands of Venezuelans are flocking to illegal gold mines, like this one, called "Cuatro Muertos" ("Four Dead" because four miners have died here since the mine was dug) in hopes of surviving the current economic crisis by earning in gold instead of the national currency, whose value steadily falls due to the world's highest inflation. From this remote part of the jungle the migrant miners have become the vectors of a new epidemic of malaria, because the hot, swampy conditions of the mines make for an ideal breeding ground for mosquitos. Miners spread the disease as they return home with earnings or pay visits to family members. Dozens of miners that work in this mine said that they have contracted malaria multiple times, some even dozens of times. The economic crisis has also left the government without the financial resources to control the disease - they are unable to fumigate homes, provide medicines to everyone that is sick, or even to test all patients with symptoms of malaria in many places. PHOTO: Meridith Kohut for The New York Times