Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that the
country's seaports will be taken under the army's control as part
of government's plan to combat the economic crisis marked by severe food
and medicine shortages.
"Today we take control of the main five ports — Guanta, La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo and Guamache," Maduro said in a speech on the Venezuelan national television.
Earlier on Tuesday, Maduro signed a decree in which he ordered the army to co-ordinate the production and distribution of food by monitoring both food processing plants and ports.
Venezuela has been in a state of an economic emergency since January. Up to 96 percent of Venezuela’s budget depends on oil which price is in the lowest in years. Venezuela’s opposition has blamed Maduro for the economic crisis in the country, having gathered enough signatures in favor of a recall referendum.
