As gold prices hover at record highs, a leading Catholic leader in Peru’s Amazon is urging countries that are destinations for the precious metal to help stem illegal mining that is poisoning rivers with mercury. Miguel Ángel Cadenas, an Augustinian from Spain who has lived in Peru’s Amazon for three decades, said illegal mining has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Tigre, Nanay, Napo and Putumayo rivers as some areas where communities are at risk.