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.
Venezuelans are rushing to spend their 100-bolivar notes after a surprise announcement that they will be taken out of circulation this week, AP reports. President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday that his government would be pulling the bills to stop the “mafias” who smuggle contraband on the Colombian border.
Demonstrators protesting major economic problems, food and medical supply shortages, surging crime and massive inflation packed three major avenues in Caracas demanding a recall vote to remove President Nicolas Maduro.
The average Venezuelan spends 35 hours waiting to buy basic goods each month. As the lines grow longer, they increasingly become a stage for everyday life. Venezuela’s vast oil wealth once fueled a bustling economy, but years of government mismanagement ground much of the nation’s production to a halt, and the country grew dependent on imports.
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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The day in photos around the world.
The day in photos from around the world.
The day in photos from around the world.
Women around the world celebrate, march and protest for International Women’s Day March 8.
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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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