Venezuela Food Crisis

Venezuela on Tuesday became the first country to launch its own version of Bitcoin, a move President Nicolas Maduro celebrated.

Struggling to feed herself and her seven children, Venezuelan mother Zulay Pulgar asked a neighbor in October to take over care of her six-year-old daughter, a victim of a pummeling economic crisis.

The opposition governor of Venezuela's second-largest state, Henrique Capriles, declared an emergency Monday over a lack of food for public schools, blaming the socialist government's "misguided" policies.

Tebie Gonzalez and Ramiro Ramirez still have their sleek apartment, a fridge covered with souvenir magnets from vacations abroad, and closets full of name brand clothes. But they feel hunger drawing near.

Maria Arias slipped her notebooks into her backpack, scrounged for a banana to share with her brother and sister, and set off for high school through narrow streets so violent taxis will not come here for any price. She hoped at least one of her teachers would show up.

The Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict, a monitoring group, says 254 incidents of looting or attempted looting erupted in the first five months of the year. Food, medicine and basic goods like toilet paper, deodorant and diapers are all in short supply, and a drought and electricity crisis have exacerbated Venezuelans' hardships.

Venezuelans facing severe food shortages might have been expected to welcome heavily subsidized bags of rice, milk and other staples -- but the controversy didn't take long to set in.

Venezuela on Tuesday became the first country to launch its own version of Bitcoin, a move President Nicolas Maduro celebrated.

Struggling to feed herself and her seven children, Venezuelan mother Zulay Pulgar asked a neighbor in October to take over care of her six-year-old daughter, a victim of a pummeling economic crisis.

The opposition governor of Venezuela's second-largest state, Henrique Capriles, declared an emergency Monday over a lack of food for public schools, blaming the socialist government's "misguided" policies.

Tebie Gonzalez and Ramiro Ramirez still have their sleek apartment, a fridge covered with souvenir magnets from vacations abroad, and closets full of name brand clothes. But they feel hunger drawing near.

Maria Arias slipped her notebooks into her backpack, scrounged for a banana to share with her brother and sister, and set off for high school through narrow streets so violent taxis will not come here for any price. She hoped at least one of her teachers would show up.

The Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict, a monitoring group, says 254 incidents of looting or attempted looting erupted in the first five months of the year. Food, medicine and basic goods like toilet paper, deodorant and diapers are all in short supply, and a drought and electricity crisis have exacerbated Venezuelans' hardships.

Venezuelans facing severe food shortages might have been expected to welcome heavily subsidized bags of rice, milk and other staples -- but the controversy didn't take long to set in.