Dicing with Death: VENEZUELA – THE CURSE OF THE BLACK GOLD

In just a few years, it went from being one of the richest countries in South America to one of the poorest.

At the gas stations, lines of cars stretch for miles. Before venturing into the jungle or the tracks of the Andes, Venezuelan drivers must wait hours, sometimes days, to fill up their tanks. An implausible situation in the country that possesses the largest reserves of oil in the world. Venezuela is in crisis and its heavenly landscapes are scant relief for the difficulties that its people face.

In his Capuchin habit, Brother Nelson contends with the tracks and rivers of the mountains to deliver essential supplies to native communities. The desperate state of the road forces him to go by foot in the jungle and its steep paths. In the Andes, Chucho keeps his whole village alive thanks to bartering and his 4X4. Each time, he takes on the challenge of tens of miles of tracks and ravines to sell cheese.

On lake Maracaibo, the fishermen still can’t believe it: abandoned oil wells continue to pollute the water. They survey the scenes of desolation from their boats as they advance using sails cobbled together from sheets of plastic. They no longer have the means to buy fuel for their engines…