Page 11 - aruba-today-20180324
P. 11
WORLD NEWS A11
Saturday 24 March 2018
Venezuela president solution to inflation: Change money
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) plan a superficial solution Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro smiles in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro announced in a
— President Nicolas Mad- with little chance at solving state television broadcast Thursday, March 23, that he’s tackling the country’s staggering inflation
uro attempted to tackle the deep economic prob- by lopping three zeros off the increasingly worthless bolivar currency.
Venezuela's staggering in- lems plaguing Venezuela.
flation Thursday by lopping "Dropping three zeros from (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
three zeros off the increas- the currency without solv-
ingly worthless currency ing the problem driving hy- becomes obsolete. bitcoin, the petro, in an ment recently said it is il-
called the bolivar. perinflation will help noth- Maduro's government also attempt to outmaneuver legal for American citizens
New bills replacing those ing," tweeted Asdrubal in the middle of rolling out crippling U.S. sanctions. to own Venezuela's digital
like the current 100,000 Oliveros, a Caracas-based Venezuela's own form of The U.S. Treasury Depart- currency.q
note — worth less than economist and director of
50 U.S. cents on the com- the Ecoanalitica.
monly used black market The issue of new currency
— should begin circulating by Maduro, who is seeking
June 4, he said. re-election this year, is the
The move comes as Ven- second in the last decade.
ezuelans struggle to find In 2008, then-President
food, medicine and cash Hugo Chavez employed a
in the worst economic cri- similar tactic to circumvent
sis ever to strike the oil-rich high inflation by eliminating
country. "Let's defend our three zeros.
bolivar!" Maduro said in a Maduro's main opponent
state television broadcast. in the presidential elec-
He said the "redenomina- tion, Henri Falcon, propos-
tion" will relieve the cash es dollarizing Venezuela's
shortages. economy, a move Maduro
Venezuela holds the staunchly rejects.
world's largest oil reserves Venezuela's new money
and once shined as one will also include two coins
of Latin America's wealthi- along with eight paper bills
est nations. A fall in global from 2 bolivars to 500 boli-
oil prices and a collapse in vars, said Maduro, without
Venezuela's crude produc- detailing how Venezuelan
tion after nearly 20 years of banks will handle the con-
socialist rule and misman- version.
agement of the state-run The current 100,000-bolivar
oil company sent the econ- note is the largest in circu-
omy into a tailspin. lation now and will have
A cash shortage has spiked been in existence for less
as opposition lawmakers than a year by the time it
say the inflation rate has
soared above 6,000 per- Expert:
cent in the 12-month pe-
riod ending in February. No sign of foul play in US youth's death in Bermuda
The economic crisis has left
Venezuelans standing in HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) after the tournament. Dombroski had alcohol or Dombroski went through a
lines for hours to buy com- — A U.S. student who died The body of the 19-year- any medication in his sys- fenced area to reach the
mon food items and with- while visiting Bermuda for old Dombroski was found tem, saying such informa- place from which he fell
draw small increments of a rugby tournament died Monday after an intensive tion would be part of the from about 35 feet.
scarce cash from ATM ma- from an apparent fall and search of the island by lo- official autopsy report. The superintendent said
chines. there are no signs of any cal authorities, volunteers A search party that includ- the case remains under in-
One kilogram (2.2 pounds) foul play, police and a fo- and his family. ed police and Dombroski's vestigation.
of sugar costs around rensic expert said Thursday. Forensic pathologist Chris- brothers found his body in "As such, we will be ex-
250,000 bolivars. Mean- Mark Dombroski, a mem- topher Milroy, a Canadian a dry moat at the base of hausting all avenues at the
while, the monthly minimum ber of the rugby team at doctor who was brought to Fort Prospect. scene to try to determine, if
wage is less than 400,000 Saint Joseph's University Bermuda to do the autop- Bermuda Police Servic- we possibly can, what hap-
bolivars, which along with in Philadelphia, was last sy, said he concluded that es Superintendent Sean pened," Field-Lament said.
a food bonus amounts to seen alive walking out of the fall killed the college Field-Lament told reporters "There may be questions
about $5.60 at the black a restaurant-bar where his student. that authorities have not that we'll never be able to
market exchange rate. teammates had gathered He declined to say whether determined how or why answer."q
Critics consider Maduro's
