Photos show miners in El Callao, Venezuela, where gold has become an important source of income

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EL CALLAO, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, but the collapse of the oil industry has turned gold into an important source of income. Since 2016, when former President Nicolás Maduro established the Orinoco Mining Arc, a mining development zone, gold mining in Bolívar state has expanded into an unregulated frontier.

There, armed groups and criminal networks — often operating with the complicity of state security forces — exert control over a sector the U.N. and advocacy groups link to systemic human rights abuses, labor violations and environmental devastation.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.