The head of the Venezuelan Mining Chamber, Luis Rojas, estimates that 90 percent of the gold produced in the South American nation comes from illegal mines.
In a country where a crushing economic crisis has fueled an epidemic of violent crime, such mines are "primarily in mafia hands," he said.
At the nearby Nacupay gold mine, workers dig the earth from the bed of a contaminated river as others pour mercury into pans of extracted sediment.
The open-pit mine is known as one of the most violent and polluting in the region.
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