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© UNICEF/Claudia Berger A sample of gold taken from a mine.         15 July 2020 The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard reports of serious exploitation and abuse of children and indigenous communities in Venezuela, where mining for gold and other minerals is booming. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that Venezuelan authorities had failed to investigate crimes linked to the industry, in the region of Arco Minero del Orinoco, including extortion, amputation and miners being buried alive. Criminal groups exercise control over a large number of mining operations there, where children as young as nine have been seen working, according to the  report  from Ms. Bachelet’s office,  OHCHR . This is despite the “considerable” presence of the Venezuelan military, whose commanders were allegedly paid off via a “system of corruption and bribery” – all made possible by exploiting unskilled and sometimes barefoot workers, fo