Things are not looking good in Venezuela.

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It appears that Venezuela's prolonged experiment in socialism has almost ruined their nation.

Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro declares state of emergency

Food shortages and soaring black market prices are making life a misery for people across the country

Venezuela Is Falling Apart. Scenes from daily life in the failing state

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"A new decree establishing that any employee in Venezuela can be effectively made to work in the country's fields as a way to fight the current food crisis is unlawful and effectively amounts to forced labor," Amnesty International said in a statement released on Thursday. President Nicolás Maduro signed a decree at the end of last week that gives powers to the labor ministry to order "all workers from the public and private sector with enough physical capabilities and technical know-how" to join a government drive aimed at increasing food production.

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Inflation in Venezuela is expected to reach 720 per cent this year, with the largest bolívar bill now worth just five US cents on the black market. Some shopkeepers have reportedly taken to weighing rather than counting the wads of cash customers hand them, and standard-size wallets have become all but useless in the socialist South American state. Instead, many people stuff huge volumes of cash into handbags, money belts, or backpacks, in scenes analysts have said are suggestive of "runaway" inflation.

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The President's cronies in the Supreme Court have just dissolved parliament.

CNN said:

(CNN) In a surprising move the Venezuelan opposition is calling a coup, the Venezuelan Supreme Court has stripped the country's National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists.

The ruling effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture.

Prominent opposition leaders are already calling the government of President Nicolás Maduro "a dictatorship."

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/03/30/americas/venezuela-dissolves-national-assembly/index.html

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"Hugo Chávez statue torn down as death toll rises in Venezuela protests
Young protester shot in the head amid continuation of demonstrations that brand President Nicolás Maduro a dictator and demand elections"

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/06/hugo...

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Venezuela president says politicians are 'the new Jews that Hitler pursued'. Maduro compares harassment of government officials amid economic chaos to what Jews faced, saying: ‘We are going to defeat these 21st-century Nazis’

Guardian said:

“We are the new Jews of the 21st century that Hitler pursued,” Maduro said during the cabinet meeting. “We don’t carry the yellow star of David ... we carry red hearts that are filled with desire to fight for human dignity. And we are going to defeat them, these 21st-century Nazis.”

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beeb said:

Venezuela's Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a helicopter in what President Nicolás Maduro called a "terrorist attack".

Footage on social media shows a police helicopter circling over the city before shots and a loud bang are heard.

The police officer said to have piloted the stolen aircraft issued a statement denouncing the "criminal government". His whereabouts are unknown.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/40426642

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beeb said:

About 100 government supporters have burst into Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, where they beat up several lawmakers.

Witnesses said the confrontation came after an assembly session to mark the country's Independence Day.

Military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing sticks and pipes broke through the gate, AFP news agency said.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/40509498

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Ouch.

the donald said:

"The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented."

Perhaps he has a point.

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There's now a refugee crisis.

THE LONG-RUNNING crisis in Venezuela, which has undergone a catastrophic economic collapse even as its authoritarian regime has consolidated power, has now spread across its borders. The president of neighboring Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, said this week that his country’s most serious problem could be the mass influx of desperate Venezuelan refugees: More than 600,000 are now in the country, and thousands more are arriving every day. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have swamped the Brazilian Amazon city of Boa Vista, 140 miles from the border. More than 60,000 have asylum appeals pending in the United States.

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Maduro has given himself another 6 years.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/...

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I’m sure these things they’re holding up will be great defence vs an aerial attack or a bomb.

https://mobile.twitter.com/IamAlFakhroo/status/102...

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/20/vene...

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“US President Donald Trump has said he recognises Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president.
It came minutes after the 35-year-old declared himself as acting leader in Caracas on Wednesday.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-469...

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John Bolton sure does love a war.

“John Bolton's notes on '5,000 troops to Colombia' spark speculation about military intervention in Venezuela”

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/01/2...

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Poor Ken.

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Maduro is selling some gold.

"Speculation has mounted about the fate of Venezuela’s gold reserves amid reports that tons of the precious metal has been sold to prop up the country's crippled economy. Reuters reported that a senior bank official in the South American country has revealed that about 15 tons of gold reserves would be sold to the United Arab Emirates in the coming days in return for euros in cash"

https://www.newsweek.com/venezuela-selling-its-gol...

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Venezuela have just been given a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-500...