PATANEMO, Venezuela (Reuters) - At the once-busy beach resort of Patanemo, tourism has evaporated over the last two years as Venezuela's economic crisis has deepened and deteriorating cellphone service left visitors too afraid of robbery to brave the isolated roads. It is just one of a growing number of rural towns slipping into isolation as Venezuela's economy implodes amid a long-running political crisis. From the peaks of the Andes to Venezuela's sweltering southern savannahs, the collapse of basic services including power, telephone and internet has left many towns struggling to survive. At one such roadblock in eastern Venezuela, a Reuters witness saw a driver fire gunshots in the air to disperse a crowd. She stopped drinking coffee after being unable to pay for it, and now makes tea out of lemongrass instead.

Source: The Star June 07, 2019 17:15 UTC