Page 12 - aruba-today-20191109

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 9 November 2019
Venezuelans charting escape selling off past at flea markets

By CAMILLE RODRÍGUEZ with us and saving money
MONTILLA to afford the trip" said De
Associated Press Asençao, who also plans
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) to head to Spain with her
— Having decided it's time family. Leticia Guerra, who
to abandon her crisis-torn runs the outdoor market,
homeland, Yenika Calde- said there are items for ev-
ron spreads out her worldly ery budget. She said even
possessions in the middle foreign ambassadors visit
of a flea market in Ven- the market, not only be-
ezuela's capital, hoping cause of the prices but also
to pocket enough money for the picturesque ambi-
to give her young family a ance. The market started
fresh start far away in Spain. about three years ago,
Millions of Venezuelans but sales started booming
have already left on simi- after a mammoth black-
lar journeys in recent years, out in March left most of
and many of those plan- Venezuela without power
ning to follow are putting or communications for sev-
their hopes in street-side eral days. People can rent
markets that are popping a stall for the equivalent of
up across Caracas. less than $4 a day. Guerra
Calderon, 41, has trekked said people come from all
to one of the markets every In this Nov. 3, 2019 photo, Yenika Calderon, left, watches customers look through her personal over Caracas and nearby
Sunday in recent weeks, belongings at a secondhand market, in Caracas, Venezuela. towns to buy and sell. Fran-
haggling with customers Associated Press cisco Zerpa for the past 20
over prices for her favorite The biggest one is Garage America and the Caribbe- collapse, her sales dropped years ran a small shop in
handbags and her son's del Sol, where hundreds of an, according to the Unit- to the point that she had to Caracas selling new house-
baby clothes. Inside, she shoppers are drawn each ed Nations. Colombia hosts close her shops. hold goods such as refrig-
chokes back emotions, Sunday looking for items at the greatest number, an "Everything has vanished erators, mixers and kitchen
forcing herself to focus in- bargain prices. Loud music estimated 1.4 million, while into thin air," she said. utensils. Amid Venezuela's
stead on what a fresh start and food stands welcome hundreds of thousands On a good day she nets crisis, he converted it to a
will do for her 10-month-old customers all afternoon. more have fled to Peru, up to $50 at the flea mar- consignment shop selling
son, Gael, diagnosed with An estimated 4.5 million Chile, Ecuador and Brazil. ket, but Calderon declined valuable items for people
Down syndrome. people have fled Venezue- Calderon said it wasn't an to say how much she has getting ready to migrate.
"There are no options for la since 2015, escaping hy- easy decision to sell off her saved up, though she con- Zerpa said his friends ridi-
him here," Calderon said. perinflation, failing services, belongings and uproot her ceded it isn't enough yet to culed him for converting his
"I want to be able to go to a lack of security and po- family. Until recently, she pay for her family's planned business, saying he wouldn't
the supermarket and get litical division in a country had gotten by on meager move to Spain early next be able to compete with
the best milk for my son. that was once among the profits from her small busi- year, following relatives. big shops selling new items.
Here, I can't." richest in Latin America be- ness selling Venezuelan- At a similar street market But he proved them wrong,
Some of the secondhand cause of its vast oil reserves. made clothes in a mall and on the other side of the Zerpa said, noting that the
street markets pop up on Officials say Venezuela's at a popular outdoor mar- city, Fatima De Asençao, crisis has shuttered many
Sundays or get organized exodus could soon surpass ket. But as textile workers a teacher and mother of of those big stores. His busi-
through social media. Sell- the 5.6 million who have joined in the exodus, she two, sold her children's car ness has taken off because
ers bank on peddling per- left conflict-ravaged Syria had to turn to importing seats, a chocolate fountain of the misfortunes of those
sonal items like clothes and since 2011. clothes. It was a losing fight. and old toys. migrating but also because
household items to finance Most Venezuelans go to With inflation continuing to "We're getting rid of the those who stay can't afford
a new life abroad. nearby countries in Latin sizzle amid the economy's things that we can't take to buy new items.q

Mexico prison raid leads to chaos in border city

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN "At least eight of these mur- vellian plan to be able to On Thursday, Mexican se- call off attacks around the
Associated Press ders were tied to the diver- get authorities to stop the curity forces continued city that left 13 dead. Se-
MEXICO CITY (AP) — As 850 sion issue," said Chihuahua operation." working inside the prison, curity forces eventually let
Mexican local, state and state prosecutor Jorge Juarez Mayor Armando but had not yet reported Guzmán go to avoid more
federal security personnel Nava. Cabada Alvídrez said pris- what they found. bloodshed.
prepared to raid a massive Four men who were arrest- oners likely became aware Authorities did not provide Experts had feared back-
state prison near the U.S. ed in the violence said they that a raid was coming be- details on the murders. But ing down in that situation
border, criminals inside or- were paid in methamphet- cause two planeloads of the violence set off in reac- would become a prece-
chestrated a wave of cha- amine to wreak havoc, federal police had arrived tion to the government op- dent and spur other groups
os outside the prison walls Nava said in a news con- in Juarez. eration was reminiscent of to use similar tactics.
in Ciudad Juarez. ference Wednesday. They The state prison in Juarez Oct. 17 shootouts in Culia- President Andrés Manuel
Ten people were murdered burned 10 buses, including is overcrowded, holding can that resulted in the re- López Obrador has been
in various incidents around one transporting assembly more than 3,000 prisoners. It lease of a son of jailed drug adamant in refusing to be
the city Tuesday night and plant workers, and five pri- suffers from too few guards, lord Joaquín "El Chapo" drawn into a war against
early Wednesday as crimi- vate vehicles. poor hygiene and wide- Guzmán. Mexico's organized crime
nals tried to create a diver- Some of the workers suf- spread criminal activity, In that case, soldiers had groups. The number of
sion or pressure authorities fered burns trying to es- according to this year's re- Ovidio Guzmán López on high-profile shootouts
to stop the raid, authorities cape the bus. port from Mexico's National his knees outside the home, and killings, however, is
said. Nava called it a "Machia- Human Rights Commission. but his brother refused to mounting.q