A gold rush, armed gangs and a new US-Venezuelan alliance

A gold rush, armed gangs and a new US-Venezuelan alliance

The U.S. is backing a Venezuelan military campaign aimed at wresting control of a gold-rich region from criminal groups that have long dominated the area’s mining economy. The Wall Street Journal reported that Venezuela’s interim government is targeting gangs operating in the country’s southern mining belt while simultaneously trying to open the region to American and Western investment. U.S. officials told The Journal that Washington is providi…