Venezuela

Political crisis in Venezuela

Political crisis in Venezuela

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At least 12 people were killed overnight following looting and violence in Venezuela’s capital amid a spiraling political crisis, authorities said Friday. Most of the deaths took place in El Valle, a working class neighborhood near Caracas’ biggest military base, where opposition leaders say a group of people were hit with an electrical current while trying to loot a bakery protected by an electric fence.

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Venezuela’s empty schools

Venezuela’s empty schools

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The social and economic chaos stalking Venezuela is ripping apart its once-enviable school system, robbing poor students of what would otherwise be their best chance to escape lives fast becoming unbearable. The late President Hugo Chavez made education a centerpiece of his socialist revolution, using the riches from a historic boom in the price of oil to train teachers and distribute free laptops, but in just a few years, all of that progress has been undone.
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Evicted after a life lived in Venezuela’s “High Rise Slum”

Evicted after a life lived in Venezuela’s “High Rise Slum”

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Venezuelan soldiers and officials began moving hundreds of families Tuesday out of a half-built 45-story skyscraper that dominates the Caracas skyline and is thought to be the world’s tallest slum.

The mass eviction from the “Tower of David,” originally intended to be a bank center but abandoned since 1994 and later home to some 3,000 needy Venezuelans, proceeded peacefully.

“Necessity brought me here, and the tower gave me a good home,” said Yuraima Parra, 27, cradling her baby daughter as soldiers loaded her possessions into a truck before dawn.

“I was here for seven years. I’m going to miss it, but it’s time to move on.”

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