Venezuela's Orinoco Mining Arc—like too much of the Amazon basin—is being poisoned by a violent nexus of criminal groups, corrupt military officers, and crooked politicians. Despite the January 3 U.S. raid, nothing has changed.

In a new podcast, Brooklyn College's Mark Ungar explains how environmental organized crime has become so seamlessly blended into the regular economy that it's nearly impossible to root out.

https://www.wola.org/multimedia/its-so-seamlessly-blended-into-the-regular-economy-that-its-hard-to-pull-out-environmental-organized-crime-in-venezuela-and-throughout-the-americas/