Gold mining leaves heart of Peruvian Amazon a wasteland

A decade of illegal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon has left thousands of acres of rainforest a wasteland. Unpermitted miners cleared vast sections of trees near Peru's border with Brazil and infused the land with mercury, causing an environmental disaster. But some miners have fled after Peruvian troops moved in. Special correspondent Leo Schwartz reports in the first of a two-part series.
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: to.pbs.org/2Jb...
Find more from PBS NewsHour at www.pbs.org/ne...
Subscribe to our RUclips channel: bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
Facebook: www.pbs.org/new...
Twitter: / newshour
Instagram: / newshour
Snapchat: @pbsnews
Subscribe:
PBS NewsHour podcasts: www.pbs.org/ne...
Newsletters: www.pbs.org/ne...