My old tennis buddy from Caracas, Venezuela, called the other night to catch up. I have known Carlos (not his real name) since 2002 when I served for three years as Canada’s Ambassador in Venezuela. Carlos and I met on a tennis court during the National Strike of 2002/03 and have remained good friends ever since. In the 11 years since I left Venezuela, we have stayed in touch with Carlos and his wife Sylvia (again, not her real name) visiting our family homes in Washington and Ottawa.

To start the conversation, Carlos told me that he and Sylvia were recently awakened at 2:45 a.m. by two men in their bedroom, one with a knife to Sylvia’s throat. It was later determined by police that these men were from the notorious “Spiderman Gang,” a criminal group of “professional climbers” who enter apartment buildings by scaling walls and gaining access through open stairwells.

Carlos is one of Venezuela’s most famous surgeons. He undertook his education and medical training in Caracas. He subsequently became a surgeon and worked for over 30 years in the government-run public health system. After retiring from the employ of the government, Carlos joined one of the best-known private hospitals in Caracas. Even after retirement, Carlos continued to mentor and advise his former colleagues in the public system. His career as an eminent surgeon continued to prosper with his services always in demand from those with access to the private healthcare system.

With a knife to her neck, Sylvia was in shock. Carlos, better able to connect with people, calmly spoke to the intruders about how he was a doctor and had worked in the poorest regions of the capital. “I have probably even treated your mothers,” he said. This seemed to have the calming effect that he wanted. After tying up Sylvia with ropes, the negotiations started. Carlos had always kept a safe in his apartment “just in case.” This safe contained an assortment of cash — U.S. dollars, Euros and a quantity of the local currency, Bolivars. Into the three backpacks brought by the intruders went the money, jewelry (including their wedding rings) and electronics. In the ironic words of Carlos, “We got lucky. Everything went fine. Thank God!”

After leaving the apartment, the gang proceeded to another to complete their night’s work. In their next break-in, the two gang members found two Venezuelan brothers who had just arrived from France for a visit. Things did not go well. When the brothers decided to resist, both were killed by the intruders. The police subsequently made the connection with the same band of criminals that entered Carlos and Sylvia’s apartment from the footprints left behind in the two locations.

Our conversation subsequently moved from the security situation to the state of the healthcare system in Venezuela. Carlos’ work has been reduced to only two operations per week due to lack of surgical supplies. Those surgical supplies that are available, rather than being discarded after the surgery, are now just sterilized and re-used until they wear out.