By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO
Over the last decade, Venezuela has gone deep and deeper into a black hole. The economy has been damaged to an extent that today, Venezuela is facing its darkest poverty phase.
I hope it is just a phase, but as the years go by, hospitals loose more and more medicine, the super market shelves remain empty, and the Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, continues to lose its value all due to careless government.
This past Monday, President Nicolas Maduro had a feast at “Salt Bae” restaurant in Istanbul. Owned by Celebrity Chef Nusret Gökçe, who is known for his style of seasoning stakes, hung out with the president as Gökçe sliced the meat with his style and spent the day with the president as Maduro smoked cigars.
Not only were people furious back in Venezuela, but once the videos of this get together made it online and on the news, local citizens and Venezuelans went to the famous restaurant to protest against the chef for welcoming the president and his wife Celia Flores.
“I don’t know who this weirdo #Saltbae is but the guy he is so proud to host is not the president of #Venezuela,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
The news of this get together traveled fast though out the world and since the the videos have been removed by the chef himself, according to The New York Times.
I don’t think it is right these videos should have been removed because Venezuela’s crisis is real. By removing these videos, people back in Venezuela who support Maduro still believe he is trying to change the country.
People on social media have grieved the losses of children who have died due to starvation, because there is not food available to eat. And if there is food available, a salary a doctor makes is not enough to buy a dozen of eggs or even one piece of bread.
According to a study published by LACSO, found that 87 percent of citizens in Venezuela are facing starvation. People are trying to buy groceries by crossing the border in Colombia or migrate to other countries in South America or whenever they can.
The crisis Venezuela is facing is now more than violence and dangerous protests, but now a starvation matter.
Maduro stated he stopped by the restaurant on his way back from China to “secure financing for the cash-strapped country,” according to CNN.
Some videos may have been removed, but I am glad CNN and social media outlets are bringing this issue to light because there is still plenty of people who believe Maduro will fix the economic crisis, even though his government is the one destroying the country.