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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has taken pains in recent months to paint his country as the victim of economic warfare, and himself as the target of several assassination plots.

Sanctions imposed on Venezuelan officials by U.S. President Barack Obama last month prompted at least one member of President Maduro’s government to venture that the White House was preparing a military assault on the South American nation.

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Most observers dismiss such statements as part of a longstanding narrative aimed at distracting popular attention from Venezuela’s real problems. Those closest to the worsening state of Venezuelans’ daily wellbeing, however, warn of severe consequences if distraction continues to trump action aimed at easing the country’s compounding crises.

Inflation in Venezuela, at 68.5 per cent, is the highest in the world, prompting hoarding and a growing black-market economy. Shortages of food, life-saving drugs, and basic goods have become facts of life. Newspapers have been forced to suspend or reduce their print editions for lack of paper. Transportation has been disrupted due to the absence of spare parts. Unpaid bills have forced airline companies to cut their services.