Fresh Air

The Ongoing Crisis In Venezuela

04.02.2019 - By NPRPlay

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'New York Times' reporter Nicholas Casey was in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in March 2019 during a six-day power outage that left 30 million people in the dark. "By the fourth day," he says, "you started to hear shots getting fired in the street." Shortages of food, water and medicine have become so extreme that 3 million people, a 10th of the population, have left to escape the chaos. President Nicolás Maduro is holding firm against the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, with no resolution in sight. Casey talks about the crisis in Venezuela and how the economic collapse began.

Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new recording of a Betty Carter concert from when she was at the top of her game.

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