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A Rising Tide of Murder in Venezuela’s Mineral-rich South
Dead bodies are appearing across the Orinoco river basin of southern Venezuela.
- Bram Ebus
- ICG
In this Q&A, Crisis Group consultant Bram Ebus explains how the killings are linked by jostling among criminals, guerrillas and soldiers for mineral wealth amid the country’s wider socio-economic meltdown.
- What happened?
A spate of mass killings in southern Venezuela is stirring international concern as the country’s political and economic crisis continues to drive a migrant exodus.
On 14 October, at least seven miners were murdered in clashes between non-state armed factions near Tumeremo, Bolívar state, toward the Guyana border.
Three weeks later, on…