Four dead, dozens missing, from Venezuelan migrant boat

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BY Unknown Friday, January 12, 2018 0

Four dead, dozens missing, from Venezuelan migrant boat

Picture released by Curacao's National Police on January 11, 2018 showing two bodies lying on the beach in the area known as Koraal Tobak, about 13km from Willemstad, in the Caribbean island of Curacao, after a boat carrying Venezuelan migrants capsized off the coast. At least four people drowned and dozens are reported missing on January 10 after a boat carrying Venezuelan migrants sank on its way to Curacao, police there said. The incident happened amid tensions between Venezuela and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, after President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of air and sea traffic to the islands because of alleged smuggling.HO / Curacao's National Police / AFP

At least four people drowned and dozens are reported missing after a boat carrying Venezuelan migrants sank on its way to the Caribbean island of Curacao, police there said.

Police told Curacao News website they had recovered the bodies of two women and two men, and were searching "to see if there are more."

Around 30 people were on the boat when it sailed from La Vela de Coro in Venezuela's northwestern Falcon state, Venezuelan media said.

Luis Stefanelli, an opposition deputy in Falcon, told reporters the boat was loaded with "about 30 people, all of them under 35 years, some minors."

He said each had paid traffickers $100 "to be taken to the nearby island of Aruba."

"It is impossible to determine how many" had perished, he said, because those who made it ashore "hid themselves because they were fearful of their situation as illegal immigrants."

Curacao police said they had arrested two men believed to be migrants in the area where the bodies were found.

"People who leave Venezuela know that there are many risks, many boats are not suitable and there is a strong possibility they will be arrested," the spokesman said.

The incident happened amid tensions between Venezuela and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, after President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of air and sea traffic to the islands because of alleged smuggling.

Social scientist Tomas Paez said up to 500,000 Venezuelans have left the country in the last two years amid a deepening economic crisis caused by low oil prices, spiraling inflation and corruption that has decimated the oil-rich South American country's economy.

Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency

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BY Unknown Monday, December 04, 2017 0

Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency

Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing the launch of the “petro” backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy, Media report on Monday,.

The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that “the 21st century has arrived!”

“Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency,” backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, Maduro said in his regular weekend televised broadcast, a five-hour showcase of Christmas songs and dancing.

The petro, he said, would help Venezuela “advance in issues of monetary sovereignty, to make financial transactions and overcome the financial blockade.”

Opposition leaders derided the announcement, which they said needed congressional approval, and some cast doubt on whether the digital currency would ever see the light of day in the midst of turmoil.

The real currency, the bolivar, is in freefall, and the country is sorely lacking in basic needs like food and medicine.

Still, the announcement highlights how sanctions enacted this year by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration are hurting Venezuela’s ability to move money through international banks.

Washington has levied sanctions against Venezuelan officials, PDVSA executives and the country’s debt issuance.

Sources say compliance departments are scrutinising transactions linked to Venezuela, which have slowed some bond payments and complicated certain oil exports.

Maduro’s pivot away from the U.S. dollar comes after the recent spectacular rise of bitcoin BTC=BTSP, which has been fueled by signs that the digital currency is slowly gaining traction in the mainstream investment world.

The announcement bewildered some followers of cryptocurrencies, which typically are not backed by any government or central banks.

Ironically,Venezuela’s currency controls in recent years have spurred a bitcoin fad among tech-savvy Venezuelans looking to bypass controls to obtain dollars or make internet purchases.

Maduro’s government has a poor track record in monetary policy.

Currency controls and excessive money printing have led to a 57 percent depreciation of the bolivar against the dollar in the last month alone on the widely used black market.

Such practice has dragged down the monthly minimum wage to a mere $4.30.

For the millions of Venezuelans plunged into poverty and struggling to eat three meals a day, Maduro’s announcement is unlikely to bring any immediate relief.

Economists and opposition leaders say Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, has recklessly refused to overhaul Venezuela’s controls and stem the economic meltdown.

He could now be seeking to pay bondholders and foreign creditors in the currency amid a plan to restructure the country’s major debt burden, opposition leaders said, but the plan is likely to flop.

“It’s Maduro being a clown. This has no credibility,” opposition lawmaker and economist Angel Alvarado told Media.

“I see no future in this,” added fellow opposition legislator Jose Guerra.

Maduro says he is trying to combat a Washington-backed conspiracy to sabotage his government and end socialism in Latin America.

He said Venezuela was facing a financial “world war.” (NAN)