How Miami’s gold trade fuels gangs, guns and profits in Latin America

The United States depends on Latin American gold to feed insatiable demand from its jewelry, bullion and electronics industries. But much of the metal comes from outlaw operations controlled by gangsters who use gold to launder their profits from American cocaine sales.

Located deep in the jungle, these mines use dangerous chemicals that poison the rainforest — and the miners who labor there.

Once extracted, the dirty gold enters a pipeline that flows directly through Miami.