Families bid farewell to miners killed in Venezuela’s worst mining accident in years
LA TimesA sister of miner Santiago Mora, left, cries with other relatives as he is buried at the cemetery in La Paragua, Venezuela. Families and friends on Thursday began burying loved ones who were among at least 16 people killed in the collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in a remote area of central Venezuela. “My nephew used to work in a plantain field and went to the mine in hopes of buying a motorcycle,” Nadales said, recounting how he had to transport his nephew’s body overnight six hours by boat to La Paragua for his burial. Venezuela’s government in 2016 established a huge mining development zone stretching across the central area of the country to supplement flagging revenue from its dominant oil industry, which has seen production decline to near its lowest levels in decades as a result of mismanagement, corruption and, more recently, U.S. sanctions. “We went there because we are in need,” said Soto, whose sons, other relatives and friends traveled from La Paragua to work in the mine.