Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, South America’s largest and oldest waterbody, is at risk. The lake is situated in the heart of the Maracaibo Basin, one of the continent’s richest oil-producing regions. After the Zumaque 1 wildcat well found black gold on Lake Maracaibo’s eastern shore, Venezuela’s oil industry rapidly expanded, covering the ancient waterbody with persistently leaking pipelines, storage tanks, and derricks. This triggered a devastating environmental disaster, which could worsen after the United States intervened…
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