An oil spill of unknown origin and quantity has since Jun. 29 affected nine beaches along about 50 kilometers of the northeastern Venezuelan peninsula of Paria, near Trinidad and Tobago. The zone has many fossil fuel projects, both oil and gas.

“We don't have information from PDVSA (the state-run oil company) or teams from the Environment Ministry to take charge of the situation,” Rosa Bosch, vice-president of the Conservationist Society of Güiria, the main population in the area, told Tierramérica. She said the oil spill had received solvents that facilitated its precipitation to the sea floor.

Wilmer Duque, of PDVSA, denied that the company's oil platforms, which operate at more than 16 nautical miles, had caused the spill, but not that the damage could reach nearby Trinidad. Oil samples are being tested to determine the origin, he added.