Venezuelan oil slicks

Volunteers and workers of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA wear protective equipment during a cleaning operation after an oil spill at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state, Venezuela on Wednesday.  The oil slicks, which cover vast stretches of the lakeshore, are the result of  constant leaks from underwater oil wells and a spaghetti of aging pipelines that run along the lake bottom.  AFP