InSight Crime analysis article by Tristan Clavel:
Venezuela’s Withdrawal of Bolivar Bill Promises to Benefit Organized Crime
What is likely is that the closure of the international frontier will strengthen criminal operations on both sides of the border, something that was observed during the last closure, which started in August 2015 and lasted until August this year.
As InSight Crime previously explained, smugglers were pushed more into unofficial routes controlled by Colombian criminal groups (“bandas criminales” – BACRIM) and rebel armies (the National Liberation Army — ELN, for example, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — FARC), who all tax contraband smugglers moving across the border.
Read the full analysis here.
Militarized Venezuelan City Becomes No Man’s Land amid Devastating Riots, Looting
Rioting and scapegoating, Venezuela Deploys Troops After Weekend Riots. Stores owned by Chinese immigrants suffer heavy damage in unrest
China, a key economic ally, on Monday called on Venezuela to protect Chinese immigrants and their property.
“China is very concerned about the development of the situation in Venezuela,” China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a news conference in Beijing.
The lootings went well beyond the Chinese businesses, with everything including markets, hardware stores and clothing shops destroyed by the mobs.
