With cash running low and debts piling up, Venezuela’s socialist government has cut back sharply on food imports. And for farmers in most countries, that would present an opportunity. But this is Venezuela, whose economy operates on its own special plane of dysfunction. At a time of empty supermarkets and spreading hunger, the country’s farms are producing less and less, not more, making the caloric deficit even worse. – Washington Post
The crisis in Venezuela, which was already awful, is somehow getting worse, with protests against the government of President Nicolás Maduro now entering their eighth week and a death toll of at least 49. – Foreign Policy’s The Cable
The anti-government protesters who have poured on to Venezuela’s streets in the past two months lack basic staples such as bread, rice, flour and medicine, but the one thing they have in spades is creativity. – Financial Times
Venezuela possesses 5,000 Russian-made MANPADS surface-to-air weapons, according to a military document reviewed by Reuters, the largest known stockpile in Latin America and a source of concern for U.S. officials amid the country's mounting turmoil. - Reuters
Editorial: Eventually Venezuela may need help brokering a deal for elections and the orderly transfer of power. For now, however, the Maduro regime, tutored by Cubans from Fidel Castro’s hard-line camp, appears intent on installing a dictatorship by force. The United States should make clear that anyone who collaborates in that effort will be a target for sanctions. – Washington Post