{"id":316,"date":"2026-01-07T03:56:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T03:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/?p=316"},"modified":"2026-01-07T03:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T03:56:31","slug":"price-hikes-queues-and-tension-venezuela-shoppers-uneasy-after-us-bombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/?p=316","title":{"rendered":"Price hikes, queues and tension: Venezuela shoppers uneasy after US bombing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Price hikes, queues and tension: Venezuela shoppers uneasy after US bombing<\/h1>\n

Residents of the capital Caracas remain rattled after the US abduction of Maduro, leading some to stock up on basic supplies.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Shoppers<\/p>\n

Caracas, Venezuela \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0The normally noisy capital of Caracas was eerily quiet on Monday, two days after the United States bombed the city and abducted Venezuela\u2019s leader, Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n

But many \u201ccaraque\u00f1os\u201d nevertheless ventured out to buy food and other necessities, albeit at marked-up prices.<\/p>\n

The tense atmosphere on Caracas\u2019s streets was yet another sign of the uncertainty facing everyday Venezuelans, as they face the looming threat of further US intervention.<\/p>\n

Local authorities\u00a0have called for<\/a>\u00a0regular economic activity to continue in Venezuela. But some stores nevertheless remained closed, while households stocked up on basic supplies in case of shortages.<\/p>\n

At Caracas\u2019s central market, Quinta Crespo, many shopkeepers had shuttered their businesses for fear of unrest and looting.<\/p>\n

Lines of 10 or more people often stretched outside the stores that remained open, despite the midday sun. Officers from the Bolivarian National Police patrolled outside to keep the queues calm.<\/p>\n

Shoppers told Al Jazeera they were buying non-perishables, like corn flour, rice and canned goods, in case the security situation deteriorated in the capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking for basic necessities, given the situation the country is going through,\u201d said Carlos Godoy, 45, who lives in the western Caricuao district of Caracas. \u201cWe are waiting to see what happens. We are all in suspense, in uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
Many stores in Caracas were shuttered in the aftermath of the US attack, for fear of further military action and looting [Julio Blanca\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the most expensive products Godoy saw on his shopping trip was powdered milk, which he said is selling for $16 per kilogram.<\/p>\n

Another shopper, Betzerpa Ram\u00edrez, said she felt calm, despite the early-morning attack on Saturday. While she felt no need to hoard food items, she did note that prices for some goods have increased.<\/p>\n

\u201cHygiene items are more expensive, even more than food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Alexandra Arismendi, who works in a mobile phone shop at the Sambil mall in one of Caracas\u2019s busiest shopping districts, expressed frustration with some of the recent price spikes.<\/p>\n

The price of eggs, she said, was \u201cexaggerated\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrices are high,\u201d she said. \u201cA carton of eggs is selling for $10, which is beyond normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her colleague at the mobile shop, 23-year old Mar\u00eda Gabriela, lamented the slump in sales, as shoppers stay indoors for fear of further unrest.<\/p>\n

The normally bustling mall had largely emptied of its usual crowds. Gabriela herself was hesitant to show up for work. She travelled by taxi to avoid public transport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought people would be looking for chargers or power banks [for possible power failures], but they have been looking for other things,\u201d Gabriela said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been no usual activity. It has been one of the strangest days in recent months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venezuelans have become accustomed to volatile price increases and supply shortages over the past decade. Experts often blame government corruption, mismanagement and US sanctions for destabilising Venezuela\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

During Maduro\u2019s presidency, oil prices plummeted, sending Venezuela\u2019s petroleum-heavy economy into free fall.<\/p>\n

By 2018, inflation hit more than 130,000 percent, according to the country\u2019s central bank. The COVID-19 pandemic also dealt the economy a wallop, leading to shortages of food and health supplies.<\/p>\n

Maduro\u2019s government has not published inflation statistics since he claimed victory in 2024\u2019s disputed presidential election.<\/p>\n

\"A
Some shoppers in Caracas stocked up on essential supplies, in case of continued unrest [Julio Blanca\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It remains unclear to what degree normalcy will return to Venezuela after the US attack on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Early that morning, the administration of US President Donald Trump launched munitions against military installations in the states of Caracas, Aragua, Miranda and La Guaira.<\/p>\n

At least 80 people died in the attack, according to an anonymous Venezuelan official quoted in The New York Times.<\/p>\n

The US military offensive was over in a matter of hours. But Trump has warned he could authorise a \u201csecond wave\u201d of attacks, should his demands for Venezuela not be fulfilled.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan government has also declared a state of emergency to \u201cimmediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n

It has maintained that Maduro remains the leader of Venezuela, despite his abduction to the US.<\/p>\n

To Arismendi, the tension in Venezuela has not yet reached the level seen after the 2024 election, when thousands of protesters took to the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that there was more tension around the elections,\u201d said Arismendi. \u201cThank God we\u2019re not at that level right now, but I feel like we\u2019re not that far off either.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Price hikes, queues and tension: Venezuela shoppers uneasy after US bombing Residents of the capital Caracas remain rattled after the US abduction of Maduro, leading some to stock up on basic supplies. Caracas, Venezuela \u2013\u00a0The normally noisy capital of Caracas was eerily quiet on Monday, two days after the United States bombed the city and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions\/318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsliked.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}