We can't ignore Venezuela any longer:
Last weekend’s controversial presidential election in Venezuela has reminded Americans of an economic and humanitarian crisis we have ignored for far too long. If we are honest with ourselves, we might not be able to ignore it much longer."Yes, a humanitarian crisis that Latin America can not ignore anymore.
Since global oil prices took a plunge in 2014, the Venezuelan economy has been in a freefall. For decades, the country’s vast oil reserves – the largest in the world – masked the weak economic state of the country and the destructive reality of socialism. Now, Venezuela stands on the brink of a catastrophe on par with the world’s worst refugee crisis – and it’s unfolding in our backyard.
In the past two years, nearly 1 million Venezuelans have fled to surrounding countries, putting pressure on economies in the region. They live in crowded shelters and peddle to buy food and medicine for themselves and relatives back home. But the fate of refugees is arguably better than those who remain behind.
Those still inside Venezuela live in a desperate state.
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