Inside socialist ‘paradise’ Venezuela hit by 73 murders a DAY & 82,700% inflation as corrupt dictator Maduro is ousted

ANYONE expecting elation on the streets of Venezuela after the arrest of hated President Nicolas Maduro would have been sorely disappointed.

After almost 30 years of brutal socialist dictatorship bringing the country to its knees, the power vacuum left by his capture was replaced by a sense of terror.

People are too scared to step outside, let alone party in public.

When I became one of the few British journalists to visit the South American nation in 2018, there was high anxiety everywhere I went.

This was a time when Maduro was being courted by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Maduro called Corbyn a “friend of Venezuela”, while Corbyn hailed his country as a vision of the socialist utopia he wanted to bring to Britain.

Left wingers, such as former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, praised ex-president Hugo Chavez, who was Maduro’s mentor, for redistributing Venezuela’s incredible oil wealth away from the “elite” to “the majority of the population”.

But during my week-long assignment, there was no sign of the paradise they had described.

All I could see was a dystopian and bankrupt state where years of economic illiteracy and corruption — with leaders stealing natural resources to line their own pockets — had resulted in the rule of law ceasing to exist.

The security briefing I received before departing Gatwick airport was unnerving, to say the least.

Dire poverty

With 73 murders a day on average, I was told that it was no longer safe to travel at night in Venezuela and I was advised to remain inside my hotel from the early evening onwards.

But even during daylight hours my life would be in constant jeopardy, according to the security experts.

Not just because the capital Caracas had become a den of gang violence, where innocent people would be shot dead for a few dollars, but also because ordinary citizens were desperate and starving and would likely turn to crime to put food on the table.

It was with these dire warnings in my head that I nervously eyed the sparse, twinkling lights of the city after the nine-hour flight from Madrid had completed its descent.

Since Madura had been handed the keys to power following the death of Chavez in 2013, Venezuela had tumbled into a period of dizzying economic disaster.

Inflation rocketed to 82,700 per cent, making its bolivar currency worthless and resulting in people needing wheelbarrows of cash to perform basic transactions.

Despite the government sitting on pots of money from its oil revenue, public services had failed, unemployment was rife and crime had spun out of control to the point where just wearing a watch, we were told, was suicidal unless you had a well-armed bevy of bodyguards.

We didn’t want a war, we didn’t look for it . . . it was Maduro who declared war on the Venezuelan people

Machado

Even street lighting had become unaffordable in many areas, an issue that photographer Ian Whittaker and I witnessed as we endured a very tense 30- minute car journey from the airport on the night of our arrival that August.

Our fixer in Caracas did little to calm my nerves as he chatted from the passenger seat, mentioning that he kept his job secret from neighbours for fear that having foreign currency would make him a kidnap target.

And so began my spell in a country that has become the focus of world news following the ousting of corrupt Maduro, who had kept his own nest well-feathered just like his dictator-style moustache, all while leading his people into chaos and dire poverty.

The despot was photographed in handcuffs and surrounded by DEA agents as he and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn to face drug trafficking- related charges yesterday.

It followed Saturday’s 2am storming of his military compound by a crack team of US special forces that had been spying on him for weeks, to the point they even knew what food he fed his dogs.

Maduro, 63, and his wife were reportedly asleep when the US forces burst in.

And having been frogmarched through the property in their pyjamas, they were whisked off on the USS Iwo Jima assault ship.

His downfall represents yet another coup for Trump, who branded Maduro the head of a cocaine-exporting drugs cartel at the same time as he took the unprecedented step of repeatedly sinking alleged drug- trafficking boats bound for the US.

The surprising turn of events brought a smile to my face, having visited the country and spending years hoping for change but seeing all previous efforts thwarted.

Just last month, brave opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was unable to collect the Nobel Peace Prize in person as there was a high risk she would be bumped off by Maduro’s goons.

The Nobel Institute commended “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.

Machado did eventually make a triumphant appearance, where she warned: “We need to address this regime not as a conventional dictatorship, but as a criminal structure. We didn’t want a war, we didn’t look for it . . . it was Maduro who declared war on the Venezuelan people.”

Seven years earlier, these sentiments were echoed by ordinary people in Caracas who risked arrest by criticising the regime.

Grandmother Estella Martinez was wearing a headband of worthless banknotes when we saw her outside the state-owned Bicentenario Bank, where she had spent the previous night hoping to collect her pension.

She said: “I have lived here all of my life and we have never had it so bad. This is a disaster.

‘Shot in back’

“I don’t have anything. I should get my pension and my disability payment for my spinal condition.

“I just want to get a coffee or something to take away the hunger. I can’t remember the last time I had a proper meal.”

Asked why she did not spend the folded 100 bolivar notes adorning her forehead, the former maid added: “This money is worthless now because of inflation. Five years ago, 100 bolivars would have been enough to fill my fridge. Today the shops won’t take them as they are worth so little.”

We also spoke to surveyor Antonio Cardenas, 64, who had lost his job and was still grieving the death of his son Goram, 20, shot by muggers three years earlier.

We need to address this regime not as a conventional dictatorship, but as a criminal structure. We didn’t want a war, we didn’t look for it . . . it was Maduro who declared war on the Venezuelan people

Maria Corina Machado

Antonio said: “People are scared to criticise this government but the fact is this system does not work. My son was killed because the criminals were desperate for his money. They shot him in his back.”

Then there was security guard Francisco Bonilla, 41, whose salary was the equivalent of £7.81 a month and who sadly informed us: “It’s not enough to feed my wife and three children. We try to live off beans and cheese.”

Throughout, photographer Ian and I found the people of Venezuela to be welcoming, and grateful that we were taking an interest.

Despite Ian snapping away with a camera worth enough to feed an entire family for a year, the only point we felt threatened was when we were pulled over at a police checkpoint on day three.

People are scared to criticise this government but the fact is this system does not work. My son was killed because the criminals were desperate for his money. They shot him in his back

Antonio Cardenas

An officer demanded our papers and seemed intent on taking us into custody.

He was most likely hoping for a bribe, according to our fixer, an ordeal Venezuelans faced on a daily basis. Thankfully, he eventually let us go.

Corbyn yesterday condemned Trump’s action in Venezuela as an “unprovoked and illegal attack”, saying it was a “brazen attempt” to secure control over the country’s natural resources.

But he forgets that his mate had been stealing from his own people for years.

If the US running Venezuela provides them with just a glimmer of hope for a better future, I for one will not be shedding any tears.