Thousands flee Venezuelas economic collapse, overwhelming Colombias borders
“Every day it gets worse”
Thousands flee Venezuela’s economic collapse, overwhelming Colombia’s borders
By Dylan Baddour Jan 7, 2018
TIBÚ, Colombia — Fradetsi Cedenllo sleeps on the concrete floor of a public sports complex beside hundreds of other migrants who have fled their homeland of Venezuela. By day, they pack the sidewalks of this small tropical town in northeast Colombia, peddling whatever they can for money to eat. By night, they sleep in the open, overwhelming the local community’s public spaces.
Every day, more arrive.
“We came here, more than anything, because we need food,” said Cedenllo, 29, choking back tears. “It is very sad because I never imagined I would leave my country.”
Cedenllo is among hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the spiraling economic collapse that is leaving basic food and medicine increasingly out of reach for much of Venezuela's population. Any hope of change in the faltering country has all but faded as the government of President Nicolás Maduro continues to tighten its authoritarian grip, leaving many Venezuelans with little choice but to leave, or risk facing worse conditions in the months to come.
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https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/j5vdgd/hundreds-of-thousands-are-fleeing-venezuelas-economic-collapse-and-overwhelming-colombias-borders
Maduro denies there is a problem with hunger, or a lack of medicine. He insists it is US led propaganda. His toady in the ANC, Delcy Rodriquez, doesn't deny there is a problem with lack of food (most would call it starvation), but insists that what ails Venezuela most is a lack of willpower. Venezuelans need to tighten their belt and sacrifice for the Bolivarian Revolution. "Venezuelans", she said, "have gotten soft".
