Fear and uncertainty in Venezuela
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Is President Trump planning military action in Venezuela?
Is President Trump planning to send troops to Venezuela? Last week while reporters pressed him on the Pentagon's boat strikes, Trump reiterated his claim that this is about preventing fentanyl from entering the U.S.
People that are trying to get their son or their daughter off of this poison that they've been fed. I think you're going to find that there's a very receptive ear to doing exactly what they're doing, taking out those boats.
And then he said this. Very soon we're going to start doing it on land, too. In Venezuela, people can do nothing but wait. Trump's off-the-cuff remarks sparked these cycles of anxiety and fear.
I did see people going to the supermarket. I mean, the meat was gone and the chicken was gone. But then two days after that... Then just more waiting. Nothing had happened. Everything was back to normal.
Coming up on Today Explained, in Venezuela, waiting for the Americans.
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It's the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all-in-one, fully integrated platform that makes your work easier. CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, and more. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. That's why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you? Try Odoo for free at Odoo.com.
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Today Explained.
My name is Ana Vanessa Herrero, and I'm an investigative reporter based in Caracas. I am working right now with The Washington Post.
You know that the U.S. has been attacking boats, alleging that these are drug traffickers bringing drugs from Venezuela. How are people in Venezuela responding to these attacks at sea by the U.S.?
The reaction is not... a unified reaction. It's not like the people of the entire countries, for example, marching against or, you know, claiming to be in favor of. No. So the situation, for example, in Sucre, where this is the coast region where all the boats are allegedly coming from. And I say allegedly because we don't have confirmation from the And they're scared. They don't feel safe that in their daily shores, their daily life, they're not going to be attacked somehow. But outside of Sucre, the situation is absolutely different. So Venezuelans are really not focusing on the attacks on the vessels, but focusing on the economy. Everyone has like PTSD right now. Everyone is getting ready just in case we're going to have to suffer 2016, 17 or 18 again.
Those years Venezuela experienced hyperinflation of over a million percent.
Economically, we're seeing shortages of basic goods. We're seeing the currency spike up every day. It's triple-digit inflation, and we're seeing it in a free fall, the black market taking over from the official exchange rate. They're trying to have a major devaluation of the currency, take away all the savings of the middle class.
That is well deep inside our memory, and now the diplomatic tension is not as important. It's not part of the conversation. It's a little part of the conversation, but most of the conversation revolves around, you know, if I'm going to have enough money to buy food if something happens. Do I, you know, does the money that I have, should I save it? Should I spend it? Should I buy the gifts for Christmas? What should I do? And every threat affects the markets, affects all investments.
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