Venezuela has launched the “Petro” cryptocurrency in an attempt to bypass tough economic sanctions imposed by the United States.
Petro is intended to bolster Venezuela’s crumbling economy, which has been suffering from hyperinflation and devaluation for years.
Venezuela claims Petro is the world’s first sovereign cryptocurrency.
Critics say the move is a desperate attempt by the government to raise cash at a time when the country lacks the ability to repay its $150 billion of foreign debt.
Opposition leaders said the sale constitutes an illegal issuing of debt, while the US Treasury Department warned it may violate sanctions imposed in 2017.
The Venezuelan government says the currency aims to circumvent US sanctions on the economy.
President Nicolas Maduro has said each tokens will be backed by a barrel of Venezuelan crude. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
A total of 100 million Petros will be sold, with an initial value set at $60, based on the price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude in mid-January.
On February 20, the official website published a guide to setting up a virtual wallet in which to hold the Petro, but did not provide a link for actually doing so.
There was also no information on exchanges.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has defended his decision to scrap the nation’s most-used banknote, 100 bolivares.
The 100-bolivar note withdrawal has prompted protests and looting in several states as the supply of ready cash rapidly ran out.
However, Nicolas Maduro said taking millions of notes out of circulation had smashed the black market.
He also decided to postpone the withdrawal until January 2.
Nevertheless, some businesses were reportedly still refusing to accept the 100-bolivar notes, even though they remain legal tender until the New Year.
There were more reports of rioting on December 18. In the western state of Tachira people raided warehouses in search of food.
Many said they were afraid of what would happen next, despite the postponement of the withdrawal.
At the Colombian border there were scuffles as people scrambled to buy food and medicine, which are scarce in Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro said that Venezuela’s borders with Colombia and Brazil would remain closed until the 100-bolivar note ceased to be legal tender in January, in order to prevent black market trading.
Venezuelans are only allowed to cross the border on foot for family visits.
In a TV address, Nicolas Maduro said that 300 alleged looters had been arrested.
Addressing opposition parties, the president said: “Don’t come and tell me they are political prisoners.”
Nicolas Maduro accused the riot leaders of taking instructions from President Barack Obama, alleging they wanted to engineer a coup against Venezuela’s left-wing government.
State TV showed a plane arriving on December 18 carrying the first batch of replacement notes, the 500-bolivar.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has announced the withdrawal of the 100-bolivar banknote will be delayed until January 2, 2017.
The sudden change of policy comes after days of economic chaos.
In a TV address, President Maduro claimed Venezuela had been the victim of international sabotage, which had prevented new 500-bolivar currency notes arriving in time.
Many Venezuelans have spent several days in long queues trying to hand in or swap the old notes.
Thousands of stores have closed because of a cash shortage, and the public have been forced to rely on credit cards or bank transfers. Many were left unable to buy food.
Anger over the move led to skirmishes in six cities on December 16, the Associated Press reported. It said 32 people were taken into custody and one person was injured.
In the capital, Caracas, people waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted “they’re useless!” – then turned and ran as police in riot gear fired tear gas.
Nicolas Maduro’s government had said the scrapping of the 100-bolivar note was necessary to prevent smuggling.
The president said the aim was to tackle gangs which hoard Venezuelan currency abroad, a move he has previously described as part of the “economic war” being waged against his government.
Nicolas Maduro has said the gangs hold more than 300 billion bolivares worth of currency, most of it in 100-bolivar notes.
He said there were “entire warehouses full of 100-bolivar notes in [the Colombian cities of] Cucuta, Cartagena, Maicao and Buaramanga”.
Nicolas Maduro said one reason for withdrawing the banknotes was to block any of the 100-bolivar notes from being taken back into Venezuela so the gangs would be unable to exchange their hoarded bills, making them worthless.
Venezuela’s central bank data suggests there are more than six billion 100-bolivar notes in circulation, making up almost half of the country’s currency.
Economic experts fear scrapping the 100-bolivar note will have little positive effect on Venezuela’s chronic economic and political problems.
Venezuela has decided to close its border with Colombia for 72 hours in the latest measure to combat smuggling gangs.
According to President Nicolas Maduro, the “mafia” operating in border areas is causing huge damage to the economy.
Many items subsidized by Venezuela’s socialist government, including diesel and petrol, are sold at a huge profit over the border in Colombia.
On December 11, Nicolas Maduro announced that Venezuela’s highest denomination bank note, 100-bolivar, would be taken out of circulation.
He said the move would stop gangs hoarding the currency.
“Let’s destroy the mafia before the mafias destroy our country and our economy,” Nicolas Maduro said on national TV.
“This measure was inevitable, it was necessary,” he added.
“The mafias will go bust.”
Venezuela last closed most border crossings with Colombia in August 2015 and it was partially reopened a year later.
In 2015, Colombia complained that it had not been consulted or informed.
However, both sides eventually reached an agreement to cooperate on tackling crime and smuggling along the 1,370 miles border.
The measure caused huge disruption for the people who live and work in border cities.
This time, Nicolas Maduro said the border would be reopened after 72 hours, once the 100-bolivar notes ceased to be valid.
Venezuela’s central bank data suggests there are more than six billion 100-bolivar notes in circulation, making up almost half of all currency.
Venezuelans will then have 10 days to exchange the notes for coins and new, higher-value bills, but only at the Central Bank.
President Nicolas Maduro said the gangs held more than 300 billion bolivares worth of currency, most of it in 100-bolivar notes.
He said there were “entire warehouses full of 100-bolivar notes in the [Colombian cities of] Cucuta, Cartagena, Maicao and Buaramanga”.
On December 11, he said: “I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can’t be returned and they’re stuck with their fraud abroad.”
Nicolas Maduro’s critics have predicted chaos and doubt that the facilities will be in place for people to exchange all their 100-bolivar notes.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweeted: “When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?”
Venezuela will replace its 100-bolivar banknotes with coins within 72 hours.
The government hopes swapping the country’s highest denomination notes will help to stop smuggling and tackle shortages of food and other items.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro says gangs operating in border areas will not have time to repatriate the notes.
Nicolas Maduro’s critics dismissed the move as the latest desperate attempt by the president to tackle the economic crisis.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles tweeted: “When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?”
Others argued it would be impossible to swap all the 100-bolivar notes in circulation in the time allotted.
The 100-bolivar note has lost most of its value over the past few years and is now worth about 2 US cents.
Venezuela, which is facing a serious economic and political crisis, has one of the world’s highest inflation rates.
President Nicolas Maduro said on TV: “I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can’t be returned and they’re stuck with their fraud abroad.”
Earlier this month, Venezuela’s central bank said that six new bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars would come into circulation on December 15.
The government last published figures for inflation in December 2015, putting it at 180%, but the IMF estimates that next year’s prices will rise by more than 2,000%.
In a speech to supporters in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro has threatened the seizure of factories that have stopped production, and the jailing of their owners.
Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela had to recover the means of production, to counter its deep economic crisis.
On May 13, the president introduced a new, nationwide state of emergency.
Meanwhile, opposition protesters have been rallying in Caracas to push for a recall vote to eject Nicolas Maduro from power.
The Venezuelan leader said the state of emergency was needed to combat foreign aggression, which he blamed for the country’s problems.
Nicolas Maduro said military exercises would take place next weekend to counter “foreign threats”.
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves but its economy has been severely hit by falling global oil prices. The country’s economy contracted by 5.7% last year and its official inflation rate is estimated to be topping 180%.
There are severe shortages of food, medicines and basic goods which Nicolas Maduro argues are due to business leaders and the US waging an economic war against his government.
The threat to seize closed factories came after Venezuela’s largest food and beverage company, the Polar Group, halted production of beer, blaming government mismanagement for stopping it importing barley.
The Polar Group’s billionaire owner, Lorenzo Mendoza, is a fierce critic of President Nicolas Maduro.
Nicolas Maduro told supporters at the Caracas rally: “We must take all measures to recover productive capacity, which is being paralyzed by the bourgeoisie.
“Anyone who wants to halt [production] to sabotage the country should get out, and those who do must be handcuffed and sent to the PGV [Venezuelan General Penitentiary].
“We’re going to tell imperialism and the international right that the people are present, with their farm instruments in one hand and a gun in the other… to defend this sacred land.”
On May 13, President Nicolas Maduro declared a full-blown state of emergency, expanding the state of “economic emergency” he had announced in January.
In an address to the nation, Nicolas Maduro said the measures would be in place for three months but would likely be extended over 2017.
The president did not specify if there would be limits to other constitutional rights but he said the decree would provide “a fuller, more comprehensive protection for our people.”
A previous state of emergency was implemented in states near the Colombian border in 2015.
It suspended constitutional guarantees in those areas but did not suspend guarantees related to human rights.
Venezuela’s Minister for Communication and Information Luis Jose Marcano said the state of emergency would allow the government more resources to distribute food, basic goods and medicines.
Luis Jose Marcano added that it also created “mechanisms for the security forces to be able to guarantee public order needed because of the threats by armed groups”.
The opposition has collected and submitted a petition with 1.8 million signatures in favor of a referendum on Nicolas Maduro, but the National Electoral Board (CNE) has so far not verified them.
The verification process was supposed to take five days but 12 days have already elapsed.
Opposition activists say authorities are not letting them proceed to the next stage when they must collect another four million signatures.
Addressing the crowds on May 14, opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said: “We want a country without queues, where we can find medicines. We want change.”
Henrique Capriles described Venezuela as a “time bomb that can explode at any given moment”.
According to the Venezuelan Constitution, if a referendum is held before the end of the year, a recall vote against Nicolas Maduro would trigger new elections.
Venezuela has announced it is imposing a two-day working week for public sector workers as a temporary measure to help it overcome a serious energy crisis.
According to Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz, civil servants should turn up for work only on Mondays and Tuesdays until the crisis was over.
The South American country is facing a major drought, which has dramatically reduced water levels at its main hydroelectric dam.
However, the opposition has accused the government of mismanaging the crisis.
The measures announced on national television by Aristobulo Isturiz affect two million public sector workers.
In the TV address, the vice-president said: “There will be no work in the public sector on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, except for fundamental and necessary tasks.”
President Nicolas Maduro had already given most of Venezuela’s 2.8 million state employees Fridays off during April and May, to cut down on electricity consumption.
He said Venezuela had been badly hit by the El Nino weather phenomenon and would return to normal when it started raining again.
“We are requesting international help, technical and financial aid to help revert the situation,” he said.
“We are managing the situation in the best possible way while we wait for the rains to return.”
“Several countries in the region have been affected by the drought, caused by El Nino. But Venezuela has the highest domestic consumption of energy.”
Venezuela’s government has already adopted a number of other measures to try to deal with the crisis. In February, shopping centers were told to reduce their opening hours and generate their own energy.
Earlier this week, the government put the clocks forward by half an hour to reduce demand for electricity in the early evening.
Last week, it announced it was introducing power cuts for four hours a day.
The power shortages have deepened Venezuela’s serious economic crisis.
Many businessmen and opposition politicians blame the energy crisis and shortages of basic goods on government economic mismanagement.
They say tough currency controls introduced in 2003 by the late president, Hugo Chavez, have only made this worse.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s economy has also been hit by a sharp fall in the price of its main export, oil.
Venezuela will cut power for four hours a day from next week to deal with a worsening energy crisis.
The power cuts will last for 40 days as the country struggles under a severe drought limiting hydroelectric output.
It is the latest setback to Venezuela’s economy which has been hit by a sharp fall in the price of its main export, oil.
Venezuela’s main brewer, Polar, also says it will stop production because it has no dollars to buy grain abroad.
Polar, which produces 80% of Venezuela’s beer, says 10,000 workers will be affected by the stoppage.
Photo Reuters
Announcing the restrictions on April 21, Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez said the hours of suspension would be published on a daily basis in newspapers and on ministerial websites. He added that the cuts would not happen between 20:00 and midday.
Venezuela’s energy crisis has been deepening all this year, in February, shopping malls were told to reduce their opening hours and generate their own energy.
President Nicolas Maduro has accused Venezuela’s business elite of colluding with the US to wreck the economy.
He has accused Polar President Lorenzo Mendoza of being allied to the opposition which now dominates the Venezuelan parliament against him.
Many businessmen and opposition politicians blame the energy crisis and shortages of basic goods on government economic mismanagement.
They say tough currency controls introduced in 2003 by the late president, Hugo Chavez have only made this worse.
The country’s economy is in dire straits, suffering from spiraling inflation, shortages of some basic goods and dwindling revenue from oil.
Venezuela’s almost exclusive relies on oil, the price of which has fallen sharply.
Venezuela’s economy has entered recession, after contracting for the third consecutive quarter of the year.
The Central Bank announced that the economy had shrunk by 2.3% in Q3 2014.
President Nicolas Maduro said the Venezuelan economy had been affected by political instability and dropping oil prices in international markets.
He accused the US of flooding the markets with oil as part of an economic war against Russia.
The central bank also said inflation had reached 63.6% in the 12 months to November, one of the highest rates in the world.
Nicolas Maduro announced a number of measures to boost economic growth and control inflation, including reforms to Venezuela’s currency control system.
“The details will be extensively explained after the New Year’s greeting,” he told reporters.
Nicolas Maduro said speculation had affected inflation but he also praised government efforts to rein in the increases.
He said Venezuela was suffering the consequences of an economic war launched by US President Barack Obama “to destroy” the oil producers’ cartel, OPEC.
“It is a two-year plan, which is affecting the prices of commodities and many developing economies,” Nicolas Maduro said.
“The US wants to impose a unipolar world controlled from Washington. That is madness.”
The crisis offered a “great opportunity for Venezuela to change its economic model,” the president added.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with its economy highly dependent on oil exports.
The Venezuelan opposition blames the socialist policies of Nicolas Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, for a shortage of many staples, such as corn oil and milk, amid a serious economic crisis.
Venezuela’s economy shrank by 4.8% and 4.9% respectively in Q1 and Q2 2014.
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