EL TUKUKO, Venezuela — The Rev. Nelson Sandoval’s repeated clashes with Socialist officials, Marxist rebels and tribal chiefs have earned him both loyal followers and bitter enemies in a remote and neglected Indigenous village in the rainforest of western Venezuela.

To some of the community’s 3,500 residents, he is “the Devil.” His supporters know him as their “second father.”

For the last 15 years, Father Sandoval has been working to bring education and health care to the village, El Tukuko.

His allies say this has made him the main lifeline keeping El Tukuko afloat amid Venezuela’s unprecedented economic crisis, underlining how the fortunes of entire communities can hinge on single individuals in a disintegrating country.