A Venezuelan miner wearing a shirt with the image of “Uncle Sam” works digging in a mine to extract gold, which will then be sold in El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela, on August 29, 2023. In the town of El Callao, extracting gold from soil starts off as a kid's game, but soon becomes a full-time job that human rights activists says amounts to child exploitation. (Photo by Magda Gibelli/AFP Photo)





A young Venezuelan miner works in an open pit mine in search of gold to later sell it in El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela, on August 29, 2023. (Photo by Magda Gibelli/AFP Photo)





A pair of rubber boots and other tools used in an open pit mine are seen while Venezuelan mining children work through the mud in search of gold in El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela, on September 2, 2023. In the town of El Callao, extracting gold from soil starts off as a kid's game, but soon becomes a full-time job that human rights activists says amounts to child exploitation. (Photo by Yris Paul/AFP Photo)





Family members of inmates cry during a raid of the Tocorón Penitentiary Center, in Tocorón, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 20, 2023. Soldiers carried out the prison raid in an effort to dismantle one of the largest criminal gangs in the country, according to Interior Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)





Relatives of inmates wait for news after authorities seized control of the Tocoron prison in Tocoron, Aragua State, Venezuela, on September 20, 2023. Venezuela said Wednesday it had seized control of a prison from the hands of a powerful gang with international reach, in a major operation involving 11,000 members of its security forces. (Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP Photo)





Family members of inmates watch as soldiers raid the Tocorón Penitentiary Center, in Tocorón, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 20, 2023. Soldiers carried out the prison raid in an effort to dismantle one of the largest criminal gangs in the country, according to Interior Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)





A girl wearing a protective harness jumps on a trampoline as other children wait their turn at Plaza Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, September 24, 2023. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





Venezuelan presidential pre-candidate Maria Corina Machado (C) greets her supporters in Maracay, Venezuela on September 28, 2023. Machado assured during a visit to Aragua state (north), that the date of the opposition primaries, scheduled for 22 October “is maintained”, as she pointed out that the National Electoral Council (CNE) “cannot change” the agreed date. (Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA/EFE)





Homes cover a hill in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, October 2, 2023. (Phoot by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





A child plays in the rain at the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, October 4, 2023. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





Opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a rally in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela, Thursday, October 5, 2023. The opposition will hold a primary on Oct. 22. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)





Supporters of opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado cheer during a campaign rally in Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela, Thursday, October 5, 2023. Venezuela´s opposition will hold a primary on Oct. 22. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)





Supporters greet opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado as she arrives at a polling station to cast her ballot during the opposition primary election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, October 22, 2023. The opposition will pick one candidate to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in 2024 presidential elections. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





Industrial engineer and former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado reacts to the vote count after Venezuelans voted in a primary to choose a unity opposition candidate to face Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in his probable re-election bid in 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)





Venezuelan presidential pre-candidate for the opposition Vente Venezuela party, Maria Corina Machado (C) celebrates the results of the opposition's primary elections at her party headquarters in Caracas on October 22, 2023. Venezuela's opposition is voting in primaries that will select a candidate to face President Nicolas Maduro in the elections next year. (Photo by Federico Parra/AFP Photo)





President Nicolas Maduro speaks to pro-government supporters after a referendum regarding Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo, a region administered and controlled by Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, December 4, 2023. Voters answered five questions about the future of the disputed land, including whether they support turning it into a Venezuelan state. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





Singer Pelle Almqvist of the Swedish rock band The Hives performs during a concert at the Concha Acustica of Bello Monte in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, December 7, 2023. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)





Miss Venezuela 2022 Diana Silva crowns Miss Amazonas Ileana Marquez after she won the Miss Venezuela 2023 pageant, whose winner will participate in the Miss Universe 2024 contest, in Caracas, Venezuela on December 7, 2023. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)





Miss Amazonas Ileana Marquez kisses her daughter, after winning the Miss Venezuela 2023 pageant, whose winner will participate in the Miss Universe 2024 contest, in Caracas, Venezuela on December 8, 2023. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)





A worker fumigates a neighborhood against dengue-promoting mosquitoes, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)