Venezuela closes border with Colombia

President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday night that he is closing the country's borders with Colombia within 72 hours, while the Venezuelans rush to exchange bills, before they become invalid at the end of this week. He accused the "mafia" in the transportation of Venezuelan money in Colombia.

This is the latest twist in the crisis which represents a severe economic depression in Venezuela, which is having a cruel impact on the lives of its citizens. The Venezuelan government announced that the closure of the border with Colombia it is necessary " to counter criminal attacks against our currency."

Some Venezuelans gather in the border cities of Colombia for the exchange of currency into U.S. dollars. In order to make life a little easier, the Maduro government announced that it will start to print 6 new banknotes for the sum from 500 to 20 thousand bolivars. On Sunday, the Maduro administration has announced that it will prohibit 100 Bolivar and replace them with coins of the same denomination within 72 hours. New banknotes and coins is expected to appear on Thursday.

This turn of events has forced Venezuelans to keep their accounts in local banks or exchange them as quickly as possible to not have a worthless piece of paper to the end of the week.

Venezuela officially suffering from hyperinflation - an inflation rate rose by 50% during the past 30 days, according to a report released Monday by a Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke. The international monetary Fund predicts that inflation in Venezuela next year will exceed 1600%.

sections: Economics, World News, Accidents