Venezuela’s last remaining national newspaper -El Nacional- will close this Friday after 75 years in business; yielding to “unrelenting government pressure” and a crippling paper shortage throughout the socialist country.
“We’ve endured longer than the others,” said El Nacional’s president and CEO Miguel Otero. “But in the end we could not persist.”
According to the Associated Press, El Nacional was widely respected and famous for its anti-government articles. The newspaper regularly published stories highly critical of Nicolas Maduro’s brutal socialist regime.
“Both late President Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro have had strained relations with the media and accused journalists of contributing to anti-government plots and publishing fake news,” writes the AP.
“El Nacional has not died but is reinvented to bet on the future,” said the paper’s general manager. “Because nobody is going to shut us up.”
Read the full report at the Associated Press.
LETHAL LEGACY: Venezuela Marks 20 Years Since the Rise of Socialist Hugo Chavez
Venezuela’s starving citizens continued their struggle to survive under the socialist regime’s total failure to stem the financial crisis this week; marking roughly 20 years since Hugo Chavez’ rise to power in the once-rich nation.
“On 6 December 1998, Hugo Chávez proclaimed a new dawn of social justice and people power. ‘Venezuela’s resurrection is under way and nothing and nobody can stop it,’” writes the Guardian. “Two decades on, those dreams are in tatters.”
“The comandante is dead and his revolution in intensive care as economic, political and social chaos engulf what was once one of Latin America’s most prosperous societies. Almost 10% of Venezuela’s 31 million-strong population have fled overseas; of those who remain, nearly 90% live in poverty,” adds the author.
Stunning statistics released earlier this year show approximately 80% of Venezuelans struggle to find food on a daily basis; with two million citizens leaving the country since the collapse began in 2016.
Read the full story at the Guardian.
MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Venezuela’s Maduro Dines on $100 Steak, Smokes Cigars as Nation Starves
Venezuelan Socialist President Nicolas Maduro was caught on camera eating a $100 steak and smoking lavish cigars during a recent trip to Asia; infuriating millions of starving residents struggling with a collapsing economy and vanishing food supplies.
According to Bloomberg, images of Maduro dining at a famous steak restaurant in Turkey went viral on social media within minutes. The socialist president was traveling back from China where he sought aid for his impoverished nation.
“Maduro visited Nusr-Et, known for its $100 rib-eye, after making an official trip to China in hopes of securing financing for cash-strapped Venezuela. In videos posted by Nusret to Twitter and Instagram, Maduro is seen eating steak next to his wife, Cilia Flores, while also holding a cigar and trying on a t-shirt depicting Nusret, also known as Salt Bae and famous for how he prepares and seasons steaks,” writes Bloomberg.
Venezuela is struggling to clampdown on a devastating financial crisis. Recent reports say nearly 79% of the nation’s residents are unable to “feed themselves” on a daily basis.