Famine Could Come to Venezuela as Food Crisis Grows 'Dire'

The Takeaway | Jul 14, 2016

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has increased the scope of the military as his country's political and economic crisis worsens. Now, General Vladimir Padrino will oversee food distribution and Venezuela's major ports.

Hannah Dreier, Venezuela correspondent for The Associated Press, spoke with John Hockenberry about what the country is doing to alleviate food and medicine shortages. 

As protests over food rationing grow, there are "fields lying fallow while farmers go to line up for imported goods," she says. But imports have dropped, and there are daily riots and looting. Dreier adds that the collapse has prompted most college educated people to leave the country. 

Still, President Maduro is working to root out corruption and get his country back on track, and he sees the military as a means to do so. "Nobody stops Venezuela," he said during a speech addressing the crisis. 

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear our full interview with Dreier. 

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