For at least 27 days there has been an active oil spill that affects the Marchán River, which begins in La Línea sector in La Pica Parish and passes through San Agustín. Locals denounce that almost a month after this happened, the state Venezuelan government run monopoly Petroleos of Venezuela (PDVSA) has not solved the problem because the company says it does not have the necessary cleaning equipment.
By La Patilla
Feb 23, 2023
Another oil spill has been ongoing for approximately 15 days in the Laguna Grande sector of the aforementioned parish, where more than have been 300 families are affected by the pollution of the waters of the river and the strong smell that pervades.
Carlos Corales, a resident of the Mereyal sector – one of those affected by the spills – who described as “a lie” the statement by PDVSA’s management where it claims not to have the necessary cleaning equipment. However, it brings in people to work in the area. He said that many children have become ill with respiratory conditions as a result of the vapors and smell of the oil.
“We want PDVSA to get to the site and see the situation that is affecting us. In addition, they do not bring in outsiders when there are many here who can work in cleaning the rivers. The downstream crops are being lost and the animals are dying. There is approximately one kilometer long strip where the crops have already been lost. We want them to face us and not lie to our faces,” said Corales.
When passing through the sectors La Costa and San Agustín, you can see the contamination of the river where the crude oil slick runs through 3 kilometers, according to the locals.
For his part, Belkys Cova said that today they could notice that many fish are dying, all due to the oil spill. She states that this Maturín area depends on fishing and among the species that have been killed are the “busco”, the “rayado” (both types of catfish), the “cupaneca”, the “coporo”, the “guabina”, among others.
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