Venezuela is steeped in economic and political turmoil.
Inflation last year surpassed 2,600 percent, according to opposition lawmakers, which has exacerbated severe shortages of
food and
medicine.
Venezuela is now governed by a Constituent Assembly, composed of close allies of President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition-controlled Congress has been sidelined, the highest court is stacked with Maduro loyalists, and the national guard has been ordered to take a hard line on any protests.