Victor R. Caivano / AP

A protester hurls a stone at police officers during a protest against the acquittal of 13 people accused in the disappearance of a young woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec. 12, 2012.

Victor R. Caivano / AP

Demonstrators and police officers clash during a protest against the acquittal of 13 people accused in the disappearance of a young woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012.

The Associated Press reports — The acquittal on Tuesday of 13 people accused in the disappearance of Marita Veron, a young woman who was allegedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution for "VIP clients," spread shock and outrage across Argentina on Wednesday, prompting street protests and calls by political leaders to impeach the three judges who delivered the verdict.

Many called the ruling a setback for Argentina's efforts to combat sex trafficking, which began largely as a result of Susana Trimarco's one-woman, decade-long quest to find her missing daughter, Maria de los Angeles "Marita" Veron. Her attorneys said she would pursue appeals.

Susana Trimarco via AP

Susana Trimarco, right, poses with her daughter Marita Veron and her granddaughter Micaela, daughter of Marita, in 2002.

Trimarco was a housewife who paid scant attention to the news until her daughter, Marita, disappeared. After getting little help from police, Trimarco launched her own investigation after receiving a tip that Marita may have been abducted and forced into sex slavery. Trimarco visited brothels seeking clues and the search took an additional goal: rescuing sex slaves and helping them start new lives. But years of searching haven't led Trimarco to Marita. Read the full story.

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Albeiro Lopera / Reuters

Miguel Restrepo, 62, looks up from his sewer home in Medellin, Colombia, Dec. 4, 2012.

Albeiro Lopera, Reuters — Former drug addict Miguel Restrepo, 62, has been living in an abandoned sewer with his wife and dog Blackie for 22 years. Their home, fitted with a kitchen, fan, television, chair and bed, is a 64.5-square-feet tunnel that leaks when it rains and requires a manhole cover.

In a video on the BBC website, Restrepo says that he lives better than the president of Colombia.

Albeiro Lopera / Reuters

Miguel Restrepo, 62, and wife Maria Garcia, left, prepare Christmas decorations outside their sewer home in Medellin, Colombia on Dec. 4

Albeiro Lopera / Reuters

Maria Garcia cooks in her sewer home in Medellin, Colombia, Dec. 4.

Raul Arboleda / AFP - Getty Images

Miguel Restrepo, left, rests with his wife Maria Garcia and their dog on a bed inside their sewer home in Medellin, Colombia, Dec. 4.

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Jorge Silva / Reuters

An aerial view shows an illegal mine in the jungle in southern Venezuela.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An illegal miner or garimpeiro works in a mine close to the Ikabaru river in southern Venezuela.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Rough diamonds are seen on the desk of a trader in his office in Santa Elena de Uairen in the south of Venezuela.

In the triangle that connects Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana a huge number of illegal gold and diamond prospectors — garimpeiros — dream of changing their lives overnight by finding a huge bonanza. 

Writing on Reuters' photographers blog, Jorge Silva describes his journey to document these remote mines: 

We are just north of the Amazon Basin, riding a boat on the Ikabaru River. The passengers are people who buy gold and diamonds. They stop at each of the illegal mines that appear as craters on the river’s edge. They carry small weighing scales that seem very accurate, magnifying loupes, burners to melt the gold and separate the mercury, and some large spoons to collect it.

They are also carrying bags full of cash.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An illegal mine is seen in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar, near the border with Brazil.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

A man performs maintenance while sitting on the top of an Antonov An-2 aircraft before it departs with supplies to the mines, in the town of Ikabaru in the south of Venezuela.

The appeal of working in illegal mining is enormous. Four grams of gold equal an average monthly wage in Venezuela. An ounce of the metal goes for over $1,700. The gold fever is understandable if you consider that an ounce used to sell for $250 ten years ago.

But in these mines, and the towns around them, life is expensive. A bottle of water costs around $12, and a 250-liter tank of gasoline, which would cost just $5 in the rest of the country, here goes for up to $1,200. Venezuela is known for having the cheapest gasoline in the world.

Masked men stole 70 gold bars from fishing boat in Curacao

Those who can, work hard. They don’t know if they will be able to carry on. The government is threatening to clamp down on clandestine mining. Thousands of families and whole towns live off this activity, directly or indirectly.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

A garimpeiro digs with a pressure hose in Bolivar.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Heavily armed guards hold their weapons outside a business licensed to buy rough diamonds and gold in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

In a city nearby, a diamond buyer adjusted the gun on his waist while he greeted a miner who brought some “rocks.” He passionately explained that diamonds are the perfect currency. “You can carry thousands of dollars in the pocket of your pants without setting off any metal detector. There are no borders for them.”

Back at the mine, Ramón walked exhausted at the end of his workday. His face, ravaged by the sun, was sprinkled with mud. When he smiled, a golden “R” became visible, inlaid in one of his front teeth. Read the full story.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An miner named Ramon flashes a gold letter 'R' on his tooth as he smiles after working in a mine in Bolivar.

Editor's note: Images taken in November, 2012 and made available to NBC News today.

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Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Soldiers stand guard during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30, 2012.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Weapons are lined up during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

A worker destroys a shotgun during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30.

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Edgard Garrido / Reuters

Soldiers from Mexico's mounted cavalry unit are seen on their horses before a military parade to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the Mexican Revolution at Military Camp Number One in Mexico City on November 20, 2012.

All images by Karel Navarro / AP

A member of folkloric music group 'Los Brillantes de Matacancha' from Huanuco, Peru, performs during a show inside a bullring at the Yawar Toro center during a festival on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Nov. 18.

Bullfighter Brayan Quinonez performs during a festival in Peru, Nov. 18.

Karel Navarro, AP — A festival was organized by Peru’s town of Huanuco to celebrate native customs in culinary art, dance and music.  People from Peru's Andean highlands, who have emigrated for decades to the capital in search for opportunities, organize fairs on various dates on the outskirts of Lima to honor various patron saints, celebrate anniversaries or to celebrate local customs.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Images made available to NBC News on Nov. 19

See other images related to Peru on PhotoBlog

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People watch a parade outside a bullfighting ring at the Yawar Toro center during a festival on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Nov. 18.

People watch a show inside a bullring at the Yawar Toro center during a festival on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Nov. 18.

Alejandro Evangelista, a musician from the Pomapata Musical Center, pours himself a beer after performing in a bullring at the Yawar Toro center during a festival on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Nov. 18.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen cast nets for bait fish in the Almendares River before heading out to fish for the day near Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16, 2012. Despite Cuba's fisheries being at critically low levels according to the United Nations, fishermen are still catching enough to make a living.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen haul in a marlin at a dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

A fisherman repairs his cast net at one of the local fishing docks in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Feral cats crowd a boat in hopes of receiving scraps from fishermen at a dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

Greg Kahn / Getty Images

Fishermen help pull a boat into a landing at a local dock in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 16.

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