Scattered looting as population is stuck with voided 100-bolivar notes
By Sheyla Urdaneta andKejal Vyas
Dec. 16, 2016 7:51 p.m. ET
Desperate and cashless Venezuelans, angry that the government hasn’t exchanged their voided bank notes as officials had pledged, on Friday rose up in protest with some scattered looting of stores.
National Guard troops were deployed to put down the unrest that broke out as far west as this large city near the Colombian border and in smaller towns in the east. With only nine days to go before Christmas, Venezuelans grappling with a collapsing economy and soaring inflation are left without money after President Nicolás Maduro in a sudden move this week banned the 100-bolivar note, the country’s largest denomination. Only the Central Bank now accepts the remaining bills—and only until Tuesday.
“Maduro is making a mockery of the people, and he has destroyed Christmas for all Venezuelans,” said Desiré Chávez, a 33-year-old clothing vendor in Maracaibo who had accepted the 100-bolivar notes until Thursday. “Now I don’t know what I’ll do because that cash is useless and my kids are hungry.”.......To Read More...
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