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[sarcasm]
It's the Jews' fault.
[/sarcasm]
Is Bush off the hook then???
Based on his actions, I doubt Hugo cares, either.I doubt Hugo gives a shit. Let him drink his friggin oil.
Maduro spoke on state-run television Friday, declaring he had asked the United Nations for help addressing shortages of medicine and other goods in Venezuela which he blamed on "the economic war and the fall in oil prices." "I've asked for support from the United Nations to help treat the economic and social injuries that have hit our people," he said.
The country's Medical Federation said hospitals had less than 5 percent of the medicine needed to properly treat patients. State media reported that Maduro met with Jessica Faieta, assistant administrator and director for the U.N. Development Program in Latin America and the Caribbean, on Friday.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said he asked the United Nations for help to increase the supply of medicine in the country, as shortages have left some hospitals with less than five percent of the drugs needed
He did not clarify what kind of assistance he was seeking or if the United Nations had agreed to offer assistance, but he said the United Nations possessed the expertise to normalize the supply and distribution of medicine in the country. "The United Nations has the most advanced and complete plans in the world to recover the pharmaceutical industry's production capacity and direct it toward medicines for the people," he said.
Venezuela asks UN for help increasing dwindling medicine supply
National Guard soldiers were pelting the building in this highland town near Caracas with tear gas canisters as they searched for opposition activists who had been protesting unpopular President Nicolas Maduro for over three months. Amid screams and insults from neighbors, soldiers stormed the building and arrested dozens of youths, according to the children's mother, Gabriela. Gabriela and her husband, Yorth, hid the kids in their bedroom closet as the apartment filled with thick gas after seven canisters crashed in. The guards did not enter their apartment, but the family was unable to sleep that night and the apartment reeked for days. After that, the kids changed.
Yennifer Padron kisses her baby in her house at Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela
Jeremias cried and begged to leave Venezuela. His younger sister, previously not even scared of the dark, was terrified every time she heard a loud sound — an object falling, a truck, or thunder. "She would say, 'The soldiers are attacking us' and cry," said Gabriela, 30, a nurse by training. "That was the trigger for us that we had to get the kids out of here, otherwise it would be even worse for them psychologically." A month after the incident, the family sold what it could, packed three suitcases, and left Venezuela by bus with around $250 in their pocket, joining droves fleeing the country. Out of fear of reprisals, Gabriela asked that their surname and country of residence not be published. Her children's case highlights the lasting psychological toll the OPEC nation's economic and political crisis is having on its youngsters.
Spiraling into chaos
Venezuela, home to the world's largest crude oil reserves, has spiraled deeper into chaos in recent years as Maduro — the narrowly-elected successor of leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez — has cracked down harder on the opposition amid a painful recession blamed by economists on his socialist government's interventionist policies. Recently, months of protests demanding early elections interrupted schools, leaving kids holed up at home or exposed to violence. A crippling recession has spawned shortages of products like milk and diapers, while rapid inflation means toys or school uniforms are unaffordable for poor families. There is no recent data examining the psychological effects of the deprivations on children, but teachers, psychologists, rights activists and two dozen parents interviewed by Reuters suggest it could have a heavy toll. "From a young age, children are being Maduro blames the opposition for traumatizing children and others via protests that often turned violent, with hooded demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
One of Yennifer Padron and Victor Cordova's daughters touches hot water in a pot in the house where they live at Petare slum in Caracas, Venezuela
He says his government, which did not respond to a request for comment, has done more for children than previous administrations, pointing to youth orchestras, sports programs and vacation camps. 'Mommy, when is the food box coming?' to think about survival," said psychologist Abel Saraiba at Caracas-based child protection organization Cecodap. He said around half of his 50 patients have symptoms linked to the crisis. Children are more prone to anxiety, aggression and depression, and could also struggle to relate with peers because they see the outside world as hostile. That could be another hurdle in Venezuela's eventual reconstruction. Maduro blames the opposition for traumatizing children and others via protests that often turned violent, with hooded demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. He says his government, which did not respond to a request for comment, has done more for children than previous administrations, pointing to youth orchestras, sports programs and vacation camps.
'Mommy, when is the food box coming?'
The four-hour formal outages began on Thursday. But many residents scoffed at the announcement, wryly noting that they have been suffering far more extended blackouts during the last week. “We have spent 14 hours without electricity today. And yesterday electricity came and went: for six hours we had no power,” said Ligthia Marrero, 50, in the western state of San Cristobal, noting that her fridge had been damaged by the frequent interruptions. Crumbling infrastructure and lack of investments have hit Venezuela’s power supply for years. Now, the situation has been exacerbated by dwindling rains.
In the worst-hit western cities, business has all but ground to a halt at a time when the OPEC nation of 30 million is already suffering hyperinflation and a profound recession. Many Venezuelans are unable to eat properly on salaries of just a couple of dollars per month at the black market rate, sparking malnutrition, emigration and frequent sights of Venezuelans digging through trash or begging in front of supermarkets. Maybelin Mendoza, a cashier at a bakery in Tachira state, said business has been further hit because points of sale stop working during blackouts - just as Venezuelans are chronically short of cash due to hyperinflation.
In the most dramatic cases, the opposition governor of Tachira state said three people, including a four-month-old, died this week because they failed to receive assistance during a power outage. “Because of electrical failures, the machines weren’t able to revive the people and they died,” said Laidy Gomez. Reuters was unable to confirm the report. Authorities have acknowledged that interruptions will continue for at least two weeks, but they have not said whether they will spread to other states. “Of a possible 1,100 megawatts, we are only generating 150 right now,” Energy Minister Luis Motta told reporters referring to the Fabricio Ojeda dam, in the western Andean state of Merida.
Capital city Caracas and other major cities have not been hit by rationing yet. Two years ago, rationing there lasted five months when a drought hit the Guri dam, the country’s largest hydroelectric dam. But because of the economic crisis, Venezuela has reduced electricity consumption to about 14,000 megawatts at peak hours, according to engineer and former electricity executive Miguel Lara. Two years ago, state-run Corpoelec put the figure at 16,000 megawatts.
Venezuela begins power rationing as drought causes severe outages
