Wilmer* in Caracas tells BBC World Service shop owners are not allowing many people to enter their businesses – letting five in at a time, while using dogs to guard the shop.
“They let a group of five get into the store, do the purchase and get out, and then let the next five people come in, because they don’t want a bunch of people in the store; they might break out into chaos, robbing everything. That has happened before, and they are trying to prevent that.”
He adds that the food available in shops is currently at a high price, while people are queuing in long lines.
“A package of one kilogram of cornflour, a very popular food here, used to cost $1 to $1.15 and today costs $3 to $3.20.”
“People like me, I didn’t even go out. I can’t afford that, and nothing even worried me enough to leave my bedroom today.”
*His name has been changed due to his fear of backlash from authorities.
Checkpoints, armed patrols and phone checks in Caracas
In Venezuela, one thing seems certain: repression did not end with Maduro’s seizure. It intensified.
In the streets of Petare, Caracas, there are “hooded men with guns patrolling, checking people’s WhatsApp statuses,” community leader Katiuska Camargo tells me.
Dozens of military checkpoints have sprung up in the city. Foreign journalists are unable to enter.
The Union of Journalists and Media Workers reported that 14 journalists were detained on Monday morning, though they were later released.
Armed police patrol streets of Caracas overnight, interior minister says
Photos posted by the Venezuelan interior minister on Monday night show armed police deployed on the streets of Caracas, as part of security arrangements in the city.
Diosdado Cabello is seen in photos posted on Instagram, posing with security force members, many of whom are holding automatic guns.
In one video, the security members can be seen shouting “loyal always, traitors never!”
One of the posts says the minister toured some areas of the Venezuelan capital on Monday night to monitor the security forces.
SOURCE; BBC NEWS
