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One story uncovered in previously unreported detail the extraordinary drug smuggling ring assisted by the Venezuelan military and government and how drugs physically move from Colombia's production factories, to Venezuela's secret runways, and then in a series of tiny US-purchased planes to the Central American countries of Honduras and Guatemala. The report featured defectors speaking of their role in the trafficking, previously unseen maps of the traffic, data about the massive rise of the trafficking during the collapse of the Maduro government, and images of discarded Cessna aircraft littering the Honduran coast.

Venezuela has one of the world's largest oil reserves, but the collapse of the industry, a crumbling economy and crippling US sanctions has set the country's sights on a different precious resource: gold. While the people of Venezuela continue to struggle, a select few are lining their pockets: Nicolas Maduro and his network of cronies. CNN’s Isa Soares got exclusive access to illicit mines deep in the jungle following the crooked gold route all the way back to Caracas and then the world, allowing Maduro to remain in power.