Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro says he’ll shave off his mustache if the government doesn’t provide 1million houses by year’s end. In practical terms, that means an additional 260,000 houses should be completed by December 31.
Considering that the Venezuelan government has not allowed its own numbers to the International Monetary Fund to be verified for almost a decade, you can bet your own facial hair, too, that the goal will be met.
In real news, however, Venezuela says adiós to her gold reserves since the country’s broke.
When President Maduro launched a disarmament plan in 2014, and security forces were also ordered to destroy weapons seized during the police operations, the government’s intention was to reduce violence by making it harder for people to obtain guns. His predecessor had already made private gun ownership illegal in 2012.
But these actions have only increased interest in the people allowed to carry weapons. “There are now fewer deals in black market arms but that has made anyone in uniform a more popular target for criminals than before,” says Eliseo Guzmán, the general commissioner of the Miranda state police force. “They will identify a police officer and take away his life just to take his gun.”
In case you missed it, that’s the Guardian, not exactly an arm of the NRA.
Leopoldo Lopez remains in jail.
An order of large fries will set you back over a tenth of the monthly minimum wage.
Daniel asks, Does chavismo want an election? Only if it serves their priorities.
