Editor’s Note: For all the people who are saying, “Yay, Socialism” and “We should have communism” here’s the end result of what you’re asking for. You will say your version is different, but it’s not. All of those roads lead to this place, with dying babies and complete collapse. ~ Daisy
Sometimes, even regular journalists, who are used to writing about bad stuff as much as writing about good news, face nasty events that have to be documented, registered and broadcasted.
It´s my guess that writers develop, on time, a thick layer of skin to resist all the things they see and experience. I am not used to some of the gross reality checks that I have found as collateral damage of this collapse. After becoming a father, some kind of internal re-wiring changes in the brain structure. Or it should change. Our sensitivity to kids welfare, for those who (like me) never even believed that someday would responsible of some little lads.
This said, I just tripped a few days ago upon pictures of a dying baby. This is something really hard. It´s one of those things that really can´t be unseen. I believe in God because have studied enough sciences in my life to understand why there is no such thing as a dice game going down here. It seems to be all over the place. That incredible look in those eyes…I still remain deeply impressed. Having seen pictures of kids under those sad conditions all over the world, but far away enough to not being able to do nothing.
But that baby was in my own country. In my own state and even in the city where we were living. That baby died of malnourishment in a world where food should be available.
It is so deeply…disturbing…for lack of words. I can´t find words to explain these feelings in my own language, so you will have to excuse me if I can´t explain myself in English.
This is what it is like in Venezuela now.
Transportation has stopped.
I received some reports this week, about how the general strike of the transport companies and private transport owners have stopped their services. This entire last week has been rough: no transport means it is increasingly difficult to attend work. Perhaps you did not know this, but the buses have been out of service for almost one year.
People are using some cattle an vegetable trucks with makeshift restrainers and holders so the people can avoid falling. But even with this, a lot of dead people has resulted because of this improvised transport.
I have been told that the transport issue is big these days and some had to get over a cattle truck to be able to get home. This said I believe that a nice small motorcycle, quad, or trike with some spares and enough oil changes for a couple of years (or maybe 3) would be a great thing to have. Of course, this would be for local transportation only, in secondary roads and not highways unless life or death situations.
Remember I used my cruising motorcycle when my SUV engine went to meet the holy spirit, and I used it an entire year because I had the needed spares. Grocery shop, errands, school, rain or sun. Mostly burning sun. This vehicle should be very inconspicuous, and low profile (not like mine with a free exhaust that could be heard 2 kilometers away).
It should be very common on the roads, and without any noticeable mods. I would suggest even a recumbent trike or cart. If you don´t have money, makeshift one. It should not be that hard, and it would be pretty useful. For us, it would have been a great vehicle because riding a heavy bike while it’s raining with your kid in the back is stressful enough, and even more if you know medical attention is not going to be available as it was once.
Children are being abandoned.
I just read that over 100 babies aged 1-36 months have been abandoned all over the country. For USA standards maybe this amount seems low. But in a country with a capital city barely over 4 million people I believe this is extremely high, given that we have a strong family tradition and whenever a relative can´t sustain one of his offsprings, a single aunt or granny appears to take care of the child. I myself have received at home a couple of my nephews when they were having a harsh time for a few months. They could overcome those times, though.
What I mean, we don´t leave our kids behind. For this to happen with such small children, a real war-like collateral damage has to be happening. I am not exaggerating. This is happening. I am extremely mad because I see our health minister lying to the entire world about this. She defends the thugs in power, by saying there is no such thing as a humanitarian crisis while people are starving in the streets.
This is a situation that has is repeating itself. It happened in Cambodia. It is just an advance of a delinquent mafia disguised as a political party.
Now, please let me go back on track.
The hyperinflation continues
According to my last reports, the dollar is almost 1 million Bolivares, cash. Paypal and electronic currency is around 790-800K Bolivares. 1 kilogram is about 2 pounds, slightly over. Workers make the equivalent of $8 per month.
Here is a small market list:
Beef 6.500.000 Bs/kg. – $65
Poultry 3.000.000 Bs/kg – $30
Pork 3.000.000 Bs/kg – $30
Ham 3.000.000 Bs/kg – $30
Cheese(white) 2.200.000 Bs/kg – $22
Wheat flour 950.000 Bs/kg – $9.50
Butter (one pound) 750.000 – $7.50
Onions 450.000Bs/kg – $4.50
Tomato 500.000 Bs/kg – $5.00
Potatoes 650.00 Bs/kg – $6.50
Eggplant 220.000 Bs/kg – $2.20
Carrots 300.000 Bs/kg – $3.00
This is something never seen. The monthly inflationary rate is unknown. There is no way the government officially delivers some numbers. There is no way to measure it because the prices all over the country seems to be subject to an entire underground economy.
Some products are getting out of some small, very low profile farms in very small amounts, inside passenger cars, in a couple of coolers in the trunk. If there is any road control, the car driver has even the receipt of the staples. They usually travel with kids and wife in the car so they won´t be stopped. This has worked for those whom I suggested this as a means of getting their production out to the market, and there is an entire underground economy growing.
As usual, lots of foreigners have come to take advantage of the situation. Chinese supermarkets owners are importing GARLIC from China. Can you believe it? We have a lot of fertile land 45 minutes away from my city, and these thugs prefer importing vegetables from China, with dollars “assigned” (I have come to hate that word) for some government functionary after getting paid a nice bribe (in dollars, of course). I told this to the owner, and in his supposedly limited Spanish (they understand more than they pretend to) he tried to explain that the farmers are charging too much money for their products. Nothing else than bull waste. I know they use the dollars that the government transfers them for 10 tons of garlic, so to speak, bring just one ton (overpricing the bill) and the remaining is kept in their accounts.
That is why we are so screwed. They pay the dollar at 10 Bolivares per dollar. Sell them later in the black market at 1.000.000 bolivares. See my point?. The same has been done year after year under the currency exchange until it has drained the entire country. This is one of the reasons this guys don´t want to let loose the country. They have tons of properties bought under this scheme in the name of third parties so they don´t get linked to illegal activities. But a proper investigation would take down that giant cards castle.
The turmoil is spreading
About the social turmoil, it seems to be spreading, not so slowly, but it is enough to take a look and receive some reports of like-minded fellow “preppers” (perhaps a little bit primitive compared with our USA friends but they have been dealing with some hard stuff and they are on their feet still) all over the country. This time it is more than that, as the “opposition” party is no longer seen as a real opposition but instead as a collaborationist organization. Things are going to get funny, and I mean crazy funny.
A cattle farmer was shot in the middle of the chest two weeks ago and a media news campaign followed to make him appear like a foreign paramilitary supporter by one guy now “nominated” to be the “defense” minister. Go figure. In the capital, there was a lot of Special Forces members that have been imprisoned for treason and conspiration. This is no joke. Those are serious words, especially these days, and with that band of thugs torturing people looking for information.
The “good” part is, the testimony of those who are being tortured is going to be key in the coming trials. I just did some research about the Convention on Torture treaty that was ratified in 1994, and it was really enlightening. These guys don´t know really what they are doing, and desperation is always a bad advisor.
The situation is slowly arriving at a non-return point. The troops are starting to feel more and more the effect of the scarcity. Their rations are smaller every week and this is reaching even in the social networks (a great tool for the rebels). Just as a side note, there is even a colonel imprisoned these last few days (and a general of the very own official party!! His name is Marcos Rodriguez Torres, one of the creators of the repressive institution of intelligence that I won´t name here). You can imagine the potential scenario. Thank God our house there is being inhabited by my dad and a good friends of ours…who happens to be a Scout and a prepper too.
This is a brief report of the current situation.
It is worse every day.
I have been emotionally affected because of the effect in my city, where my child was born and where I was so happy, has been devastating to the most vulnerable populations.
I have seen serious reports with dying babies, and it has been horrendous. I have seen pictures of my friends of the oil company, and they have lost lots of weight.
Thanks for your time, and for your understanding.
I ask God to bless all of us, that this nightmare ends soon, and we can start over again the rebuilding of our country as an immense brotherhood, including you, our brothers and sister from America
NOTE: An earlier version of this article had a photo of a malnourished infant. It has come to our attention that the baby in this photo is not from Venezuela, but from Yemen. The photo was removed, but the rest of the update stands.~ Daisy
Powerful…
It is sad to see this happening in Venezuela, but let me tell what happen to our family when we did not have enough food to invite 3 friends, so I pray for the Lord to increase the number of fish (these were already cooked in a type of leaves, that give the food a good flavor), and the Lord told me “do not worry I increase the food” (not I will but I increase). Then up we went to our house, my wife found we had enough fish for 7, and some was left. (My wife said “the fish kept coming”)
The Lord sees the need of our brothers in Venezuela, we should be specific with every family (name and last name) so we should pray for the Lord to increase their food supplies so they can share it with their neighbors.
Hope it will be helpful
Like in the case of Isaac He “will see” for us.
There are many reasons why Venezuela is an excellent example of failed socialism/communism. However, the baby indicated in the picture is of a child starving in Yemen – not Venezuela. I enjoy the content you provide and have generally taken it at face value. However, this picture is so clearly inaccurate and easily researched, I am now in the position of having to question how well researched other things I’ve read on this site are. I now question how factual other items on this post are. I hope that your posts are better researched moving forward.
As is mentioned in the intro – the photo has been removed. I trusted a source on Twitter that I shouldn’t have.
Best wishes.
Thank the United States for all of the above. Our greed in wanting their oil has caused a once prosperous country to descend into this condition. Maybe someone here would actually read this article from Popular Resistance. Probably not though, as it doesn’t fit our propaganda BS.
https://popularresistance.org/venezuela-defeats-us-in-election/
I’d venture that economic policies made by the Venezuelan politicians, who were in turn elected by Venezuelans themselves is the root cause of their woes. By the way, nothing has murdered more people or created more human misery in the last hundred years than some form of socialist government on their own people. People don’t need marx, they need Jesus. Socialism is the opposite of freedom, people have to be de-educated to believe socialism is freedom. Also, this isn’t the only time Venezuela has collapsed, this is a recurring theme where they pull themselves out of despair by the bootstraps and thejn forget what they learned last time promptly after.
OHh…Now itsTRUMP’S FAULT!
TOO bad NO ONE in ANY COURT can prove it!!
I will have to disagree, mainly for 2 reasons:
1.- Any opinion coming from such an anonymous name, is suspicious, as a minimum.
2.- There is a deep contradiction that no “socialist” has been able to explain: Marx HATED Bolivar. Deeply. There is no possible coherent way that someone can speak of this in a way that someone moderately smart could buy it. This said, Bolivar was a REPUBLICAN. Just for you to know.
Please stop spreading that kind of lies. We were told that without the “revolution” the us marines would invade the country and kick down our doors to kill us. I am a big boy, so did not buy that of course. Many people did, though. And the only ones kicking down doors, are our very own national guards. I find highly offensive that you dare to send such propaganda link.
You are supporting the violence of that non-legit government against us, the people. That will not be tolerated.
Good to see that socialistic hatred toward the US hasn’t died – Viva Chavez – let Red China save you …
Hi folks, this story is all you need to know to motivate you into getting gold and silver while it’s still cheap as well as storable foods, etc. Every fiat currency tried to far has ended in collapse back to the intrinsic value of ink on paper, why would ours do any better? If the people of Venezuela or Argentina had gold or silver, they’d at least have some insurance to cover the Wiemar era inflation rates and perhaps even help others. Also, in the great depression, those who had cash/silver/gold bought up entire industries/properties for pennies on the dollar. Just saying.
Dear fellow preppers,
I apologize because I assumed the image belonged to one of our babies in the city where we used to live.
My wife, former journalist, has told me that it was hard for her to imagine that such picture could have been taken because there is no access of any member of any news media coverage to the hospital. The authorities forbid any kind of devices with the police in the doors.
I trusted in that source, and I see it was a mistake.
If there is something who must ask for your apologies, that is me. Please rest assured that it won´t happen again.
It was a very emotional situation for me, and still am recovering, and even feeling some guilt because I just don´t know what to do.
The regular channels just don´t work with those…monsters from the depths , I don´t have other suited expression to call them.
But what we do know, is that there have been babies who died of that same condition in that hospital. It was a large effort for me writing this, seeing now my family safe and all that suffering there.
The effect of the scarcity is such, that my little kid went with me for some groceries to the supermarket, and he just took a small cereal box, because “some other children could need cereal too”…
Thanks for your understanding, and thanks for your forgiveness.
There are now some situations that lead me to believe that perhaps I will have to come back to Venezuela in the next few months after my family is settled up entirely here.
The country where I am going now is not the same I left behind. This is going to be pretty well documented since the moment I start my journey.
God bless us all, people!.
Don’t worry, Jose. Everyone makes mistakes – we’ve ALL done this. Hang in there, my friend.
Kill all socialists.
Just a though.. Socialism is not what the problem is here.. You honestly think capitalism is any better.. The problem in Venezuela is the US has been steady destabilizing the government and economy since they got rid of central banks..(hmmmmm) Now the government is corrupt with a booming balk market. This destablization was well planned and executed..
You say socialism does not work.?? It sure does when done well.. How about the Netherlands?? How about Sweden?? Denmark?? They seem to be very prosperous…free university education and healthcare in exchange for a little more in taxes .. yah, sounds real bad.
Sweden, et.al. attained their prosperity years ago when they were less socialist.
Their scores have been declining for at least several years. They still have some financial freedom in some areas left over from the old days.
Daniel Mitchel has a series of articles with further information.
Please allow me to intercede a little here, would you? Is there any food rationing in the Netherlands? is their cheese production, like our coffee production under a decree obliging the producers to sell their cheese to the State? or the mackerels?. Is there a currency control exchange impeding their citizens access to buy and sell freely any other currency?. Does their Supreme Court is no more than a bunch of clowns obeying the President?. Because I have not seen any dutch mafia gang walking armed with AUTO weapons in the streets of The Hague or Rotterdam.
I come from Europeans my friend. I know how things are there. And I know how things are in Venezuela, and that is NOT anything like socialism.
Trust me (all of you my dear readers) when I tell you this: These guys are no “Socialists”, they are part of a DELINQUENT MAFIA, disguised under the socialism politics.
I don´t write about politics. I write about reality. I write about FACTS. I write about what is happening now, how we suffered it, and how we faced it, and the most important, how we SURVIVE it.
And hopefully soon I will be writing How We Fought Against and Destroyed Them for ever.
Communism is anti-human. It’s the new royalty of modern man disguised as the same old tyranny practiced on humans since Nimrod. Communism causes ALL wars. The Pope is a communist and the Catholic Church will figure heavily in all end-time prophecies. Coincidence?
Study the engineered famine of Ukraine.
IMF. World Bank. Period. The one world government already exists. You must submit and sell your countries resources to global companies. Or you starve. Get invaded. And hung to death in a cold dark room. Ask Saddam.