VENEZUELA-ELECTION-ENVIRONMENT-OIL-POLLUTION

Oil rigs are pictured in Lake Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, on July 12, 2024. A putrid smell hangs over the black-stained shores of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, where an oil slick is emblematic of the steep decline in the country's once-enviable petroleum industry. Here, much like elsewhere in what was once Latin America's richest country, economic hardship drives much of the discussion ahead of the July 28 elections, in which President Nicolas Maduro will seek a third six-year term. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)