El Dorado, Portrait of the Eternal Gold Rush in Venezuela

The Washington Hispanic

Center

Factuality

Ownership

Margioni Bermúdez A merchant weighs in a digital balance the gold powder with which a customer pays. It is a usual transaction in El Dorado, which like many mining towns in Venezuela transfers daily purchases with precious metal. This town is part of a region named by the government as Arco Minero del Orinoco, which has large mineral reserves and is crossed by illegal mining and organized crime. In the area it is common to collect extortions fro…