Venezuelan fishermen express hope that the oil deal concluded with the United States will allow for the financing of oil pollution remediation work. At the end of August, authorities from Venezuela and the US signed a large-scale agreement aimed at increasing production across the country.
However, in Lake Maracaibo, considered the cradle of Venezuela's oil industry, hundreds of abandoned wells continue to leak crude oil into the water. Local residents and fishermen claim that this contamination negatively affects their health and livelihoods.
Many believe that environmental cleanup from oil should be the priority, rather than increasing new production. CGTN correspondent Cody Waddell reports on this situation from Cabimas.