Venezuela just made it harder for its citizens to escape the country's cash crisis.

President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday night that he's closing the country's border with Colombia for 72 hours as Venezuelans rush to exchange bills before they become invalid later this week. He accused "mafias" of moving Venezuelan money into Colombia.

It's the latest twist in a crisis that symbolizes Venezuela's severe economic depression, which is having a brutal impact on its citizens' lives.

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that shutting the border with Colombia was necessary "to counteract the criminal attacks against our currency."

Some Venezuelans are going to border towns in Colombia to exchange their currency, the bolivar, for U.S. dollars or to spend their money -- while they still can -- in Colombia where food, toiletries and other basics are plentiful.

Related: Venezuela is replacing its biggest note with a coin

The biggest bill in Venezuela is the 100 bolivar note. On the official, government rate, it's worth about 15 U.S. cents. On the more popular, unofficial exchange rate, the 100 bolivar bill is worth a mere 2 cents. Venezuelans have been weighing stacks of cash to pay for basic items instead of counting individual bills.

To make life a little easier, Maduro's government announced it will start printing six new bills worth between 500 and 20,000 bolivars. Still, the biggest bill on the unofficial rate is still only worth $5.

On Sunday, Maduro's administration announced it will withdraw all 100 bolivar notes and replace them with coins of the same face value within 72 hours. The new bills and coins are expected to debut Thursday.

Maduro says his emergency decree to swap out the bolivar notes for coins on such short notice was aimed at "mafias" he says were smuggling bolivars outside Venezuela.

Swapping out the new bills for old ones within days has forced Venezuelans to deposit their bills at local banks or exchange them as quickly as possible so as to not have worthless paper by the end of the week. It's a sign of the times.

Venezuela is officially suffering through hyperinflation -- the rate of inflation has risen by 50% in the past 30 days, according to a report published Monday by Steve Hanke, an economics professor at John Hopkins University who is an authority on hyperinflation.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that inflation in Venezuela next year will exceed 1600%.

Food shortages continue to devastate Venezuelans. While food has become more available in certain parts of the country because the government isn't enforcing price controls, it's often extremely expensive for Venezuelans to buy normal items.

Simon Rojas has suffered through Venezuela's economic crisis for years. A 25-year old recent college graduate in Caracas, the capital, Rojas says the government's new bills won't solve anything.

With the currency in free fall, Rojas is now trying to spend his 100 bolivar notes before the 72-hour deadline passes -- and before it loses more value.

"He's selling this decision as a solution, but it's never worked before," Rojas said of Maduro, noting other hyperinflation crises like Zimbabwe's. "I'm trying to spend bolivars, not save them. There isn't an incentive to save." </s> Venezuelans have been given just three days to swap their biggest bolivar notes for coins.

The South American nation will withdraw all 100 bolivar notes and replace them with coins of the same face value within 72 hours, state-run news agency AVN said Sunday.

President Nicolas Maduro said the emergency decree was aimed at "mafias" smuggling the notes outside the country. They would be stuck with worthless paper, he said.

It's the latest in a series of desperate measures by the Venezuelan government to contain a spiraling economic crisis. Inflation could hit 500% this year and 1,660% in 2017, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The currency has crashed spectacularly, with a 100 bolivar note officially worth 15 U.S. cents but unofficially buying just two cents. Venezuelans now need to carry bags of cash to buy food and medicines.

Related: 4 reasons why Venezuela became the world's worst economy

The government responded last week by announcing six new notes ranging from 500 bolivars to 20,000 bolivars. Those bills are expected to hit the market on Dec. 15.

Sunday's decree scrapping the 100 bolivar note has been slammed by Maduro's critics, including opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

"When ineptitude governs! Who would think of doing something like this in December and with all the problems we're having?" Capriles wrote on Twitter.

Venezuela isn't the first country in recent weeks to do away with its biggest banknotes. In early November, India scrapped its 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, and introduced new 500 and 2,000 bills in their place.

But the move has caused chaos in an economy that relies on cash for the vast majority of daily transactions. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the cash crisis as a "mammoth tragedy" late last week. </s> Venezuela will replace its highest denomination bank notes with coins amid an inflation crisis, the country’s government has announced.

President Nicolas Maduro during an hours-long speech said the 100-bolivar bill will be taken out of circulation on Wednesday and Venezuelans will have 10 days after that to exchange those notes at the central bank.

Critics said the move, which Mr Maduro said was needed to combat contraband of the bills at the Colombia-Venezuela border, was nonsensical because there would be no way to swap all the 100-bolivar bills in circulation in the time the president has allotted.

Central bank data showed that in November, there were more than six billion 100-bolivar bills in circulation, 48 percent of all bills and coins.

Authorities on Thursday are due to start releasing six new notes and three new coins, the largest of which will be worth 20,000 bolivars, less than $5 on the streets.

No official inflation data is available for 2016 though many economists see it in triple digits. Economic consultancy Ecoanalitica estimates annual inflation this year at more than 500 percent.

The oil-producing nation’s bolivar currency has fallen 55 percent against the US dollar on the black market in the last month.

“When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?” two-time opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles wrote on Twitter, referring to the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Mr Maduro previously has said that organized crime networks at the Colombia-Venezuela border buy up Venezuelan notes to in turn buy subsidized Venezuelan goods and sell them for vast profits in Colombia.

Paying a restaurant or supermarket bill without a debit or credit card can often require a backpack full of cash. However, getting cash in recent months has proven difficult, and the country’s credit-card machines have recently suffered problems, leaving many businesses asking customers to pay by bank transfer.

Strict currency controls introduced in 2003 that pegged the bolivar to the dollar, coupled with heavy reliance on oil, are seen as the root of the crisis by most economists. Mr Maduro has blamed an “economic war” being waged against his government by the opposition and the United States. </s> Dozens of Venezuelans protested on Friday in several states over their lack of ability to swap 100-bolivar bills that have been taken out of circulation amid sky-high inflation, with reports of looting at some commercial establishments. "Attempted looting in some parts of the country. A situation aggravated by the lack of cash. The new bills aren't appearing," EFE news quoted the President of Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, as saying on Twitter. The Mayor of the southeastern municipality of Sifontes, Bolivar state, reported road closures, attempts to loot stores and angry protests in that region and uploaded photos on Twitter that showed dozens of people lining up outside state-owned banks to swap their money for new higher-denomination bills and coins. "Looting in the municipality of El Callao (Bolivar state); the people demand an extension of the time to deposit the discontinued bill," Carlos Chancellor, a member of the opposition MUD alliance, wrote. The Governor of the north-central state of Miranda, prominent opposition leader and two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, also urged citizens to demand that the Tuesday deadline for swapping the 100-bolivar note be extended. The Venezuelan Central Bank on Thursday took the 100-bolivar note, the largest denomination bill, out of circulation, while citizens have between Wednesday and Friday to deposit those notes at public or private banks. Those unable to deposit all of their 100-bolivar notes at bank branches will still have until December 20 to declare and deposit those bills at the Central Bank. The government had announced that a new family of higher-denomination bills better suited to the country's high inflation rate, which hit 180.9 per cent at the end of 2015, would begin to circulate on Thursday. With citizens still waiting for these bills, leftist President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday night that they were now being distributed at bank branches. --IANS lok/ ( 321 Words) 2016-12-17-02:32:13 (IANS) </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela became a country mostly without cash on Friday, sparking scattered protests and looting around the country as people fumed at having their already limited purchasing power cut off almost entirely.

As the nation’s most widely used banknote went out of circulation, the higher-denomination bills that were supposed to replace the 100-bolivar note had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs. That forced people to rely on credit cards and bank transfers or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.

Indignation at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual sparked social unrest. Police put down looting near a bank building in the large western city of Maracaibo with several arrests. Young men marched down the street after growing tired of waiting outside the bank to turn in their money. They waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted “they’re useless,” then turned and ran as police in full riot gear began firing tear gas canisters.

Mobs looted several businesses in the remote eastern state of Bolivar. In total, authorities said there were protests and looting in six cities, leading to 32 people being detained and one injured.

In Caracas, some people passed the day banging on pots and cursing the government’s apparent lack of planning. There was no cash to be seen changing hands on the street or inside shops, and no sign that the new bills were on their way.

President Nicolas Maduro made a surprise announcement Sunday that the 100-bolivar note would go out of circulation by the week’s end amid the world’s highest inflation. He also temporarily closed the border with Colombia and Brazil, and then on Thursday night extended the border closure for another 72 hours.

Maduro said the closure was needed to thwart “mafias” who hoard bolivars. Critics mocked the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world’s fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill – until now the country’s largest denomination – is worth little more than 2 cents, down from 10 cents at the start of the year.

The embattled president held up a new 500-bolivar bill on his television show Thursday, promising the new banknotes would soon be in wide circulation and offering to temporarily cut sales tax for credit card transactions. But on Friday, ATMs were still issuing only the now-worthless 100-bolivar notes.

Maduro also said the government has begun to circulate new 100- 50- and 10-bolivar coins, but few seem to have reached the public.

On Friday, Maduro said the ploy to undermine the criminals had worked.

“We’ve burned the mafia’s hands,” he said. “That there were some difficulties, and that there may be some difficulties going forward was inevitable.”

Venezuelans waited in lines hundreds of people long all week to deposit their cash. On Thursday, shopkeepers put up signs saying 100-bolivar bills would no longer be accepted. That meant many people looking to buy groceries or take taxis were out of luck, as banks had run out of lower-denomination bills like 50- and 20-bolivar notes during the week, and had not yet received the higher-denomination replacements.

Amid the currency chaos, the U.S. cautioned citizens against visiting the economically spiraling South American country.

“Political rallies and demonstrations occur with little notice, and are expected to occur with greater frequency in the coming months,” the State Department said in a travel warning. “If security climate worsens, US citizens should note they’re responsible for arranging their own travel out of Venezuela.”

But there was little sign of political activity of any kind Friday, as people scrambled to figure out how to exchange bolivars for goods and services in an economy essentially operating without paper money.

Hannah Dreier is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hannahdreier . Her work can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone .

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Venezuela, mired in an economic crisis and facing the world’s highest inflation, will pull its largest bill, worth two U.S. cents on the black market, from circulation this week ahead of introducing new higher-value notes, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday.

The surprise move, announced by Mr. Maduro during an hours-long speech, is likely to worsen a cash crunch in Venezuela. Mr. Maduro said the 100-bolivar bill will be taken out of circulation on Wednesday and Venezuelans will have 10 days after that to exchange those notes at the central bank.

“I have decided to take out of circulation bills of 100 bolivars in the next 72 hours,” Mr. Maduro said. “We must keep beating the mafias.”

Critics slammed the move, which Mr. Maduro said was needed to combat contraband of the bills at the volatile Colombia-Venezuela border, as economically nonsensical, adding there would be no way to swap all the 100-bolivar bills in circulation in the time the President has allotted.

Central bank data showed that in November, there were more than six billion 100-bolivar bills in circulation, 48 per cent of all bills and coins. Jose Guerra, a former director of Venezuela’s central bank and now an Opposition lawmaker, said on Twitter that to switch out 100 bolivar notes in such a short amount of time, the central bank “must have an equivalent amount in notes of greater denominations”, which he did not believe was possible.

Authorities on Thursday are due to start releasing six new notes and three new coins, the largest of which will be worth 20,000 bolivars, less than $5 on the streets. No official inflation data is available for 2016 though many economists see it in triple digits. Economic consultancy Ecoanalitica estimates annual inflation this year at more than 500 per cent.

The oil-producing nation’s bolivar currency has fallen 55 per cent against the U.S. dollar on the black market in the last month.

Mr. Maduro previously has said that organised crime networks at the Colombia-Venezuela border buy up Venezuelan notes to in turn buy subsidised Venezuelan goods and sell them for vast profits in Colombia.

Paying a restaurant or supermarket bill without a debit or credit card can often require a backpack full of cash. However, getting cash in recent months has proven difficult, and the country’s credit-card machines have recently suffered problems, leaving many businesses asking customers to pay by bank transfer.

Strict currency controls introduced in 2003 in the country that had pegged the bolivar to the dollar, coupled with heavy reliance on oil, are seen as the root of the crisis by most economists. — Reuters, AFP </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Saturday extended the use of its 100-bolivar bill until Jan. 2, after its decision to pull the banknote out of circulation left the country largely without cash, and sparked protests and looting.

President Nicolas Maduro said the decision to put Venezuela’s most widely used note back in use came after the promised higher-denomination replacement bills were still unavailable because three planes transporting them were “victims of sabotage.” He did not give details of the alleged sabotage.

The “new logistics” of rolling out the banknotes, including the 500-bolivar bill, meant that their launch would have to wait, Maduro said in a televised address.

Venezuela is plagued by the world’s highest inflation, and Maduro made the surprise announcement that the 100-bolivar note would be replaced a week ago. All week, Venezuelans waited in long lines to deposit their soon-to-be-worthless 100-bolivar notes in banks.

When the bill went out of circulation on Friday and the replacement bills had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs, people were forced to rely on credit cards or bank transfers, or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.

Anger at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual exploded in social unrest.

“Our children are going hungry,” said Lucrecia Morales in Caracas. “We are parents who earn money with the sweat off our brows. And now they say it is worthless? We need a solution.”

Authorities said there were protests and looting on Friday and early Saturday in at least six cities, including Maracaibo, where police put down looting near a bank building, and the eastern state of Bolivar, where mobs looted several businesses. Young men waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted “they’re useless,” then turned and ran as police fired tear gas canisters. Dozens of people were arrested.

In Caracas, people banged on pots and cursed the government’s apparent lack of planning. There was no cash to be seen changing hands on the street or inside shops.

On Saturday, hundreds of government supporters and ruling party members dressed in red shirts marched in Caracas to back Maduro and protest the “economic war” against Venezuela.

In addition to putting the old currency back in circulation, Maduro said he would extend the closure of the border with Colombia and Brazil until Jan. 2. He has said the move aims to thwart “mafias” who hoard bolivars, leading critics to mock the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world’s fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill is worth little more than 2 cents.

Only foot traffic for family visits will be allowed, he said. Despite the closure, dozens of Venezuelans knocked down barricades set up on the bridge between Urena, Venezuela and Cucuta, Colombia to cross over and buy food.

The currency chaos comes as the oil-rich nation struggles with a contracting economy and empty store shelves. Venezuela has maintained strict currency controls since 2003. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela became a country mostly without cash on Friday, sparking scattered protests and looting around the country as people fumed at having their already limited purchasing power cut off almost entirely.

As the nation's most widely used banknote went out of circulation, the higher-denomination bills that were supposed to replace the 100-bolivar note had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs. That forced people to rely on credit cards and bank transfers or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.

Indignation at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual sparked social unrest. Police put down looting near a bank building in the large western city of Maracaibo with several arrests. Young men marched down the street after growing tired of waiting outside the bank to turn in their money. They waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted "they're useless," then turned and ran as police in full riot gear began firing tear gas canisters.

Mobs looted several businesses in the remote eastern state of Bolivar. In total, authorities said there were protests and looting in six cities, leading to 32 people being detained and one injured.

In Caracas, some people passed the day banging on pots and cursing the government's apparent lack of planning. There was no cash to be seen changing hands on the street or inside shops, and no sign that the new bills were on their way.

President Nicolas Maduro made a surprise announcement Sunday that the 100-bolivar note would go out of circulation by the week's end amid the world's highest inflation. He also temporarily closed the border with Colombia and Brazil, and then on Thursday night extended the border closure for another 72 hours.

Maduro said the closure was needed to thwart "mafias" who hoard bolivars. Critics mocked the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world's fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill — until now the country's largest denomination — is worth little more than 2 cents, down from 10 cents at the start of the year.

The embattled president held up a new 500-bolivar bill on his television show Thursday, promising the new banknotes would soon be in wide circulation and offering to temporarily cut sales tax for credit card transactions. But on Friday, ATMs were still issuing only the now-worthless 100-bolivar notes.

Maduro also said the government has begun to circulate new 100- 50- and 10-bolivar coins, but few seem to have reached the public.

On Friday, Maduro said the ploy to undermine the criminals had worked.

"We've burned the mafia's hands," he said. "That there were some difficulties, and that there may be some difficulties going forward was inevitable."

Venezuelans waited in lines hundreds of people long all week to deposit their cash. On Thursday, shopkeepers put up signs saying 100-bolivar bills would no longer be accepted. That meant many people looking to buy groceries or take taxis were out of luck, as banks had run out of lower-denomination bills like 50- and 20-bolivar notes during the week, and had not yet received the higher-denomination replacements.

Amid the currency chaos, the U.S. cautioned citizens against visiting the economically spiraling South American country.

"Political rallies and demonstrations occur with little notice, and are expected to occur with greater frequency in the coming months," the State Department said in a travel warning. "If security climate worsens, US citizens should note they're responsible for arranging their own travel out of Venezuela."

But there was little sign of political activity of any kind Friday, as people scrambled to figure out how to exchange bolivars for goods and services in an economy essentially operating without paper money. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelans took a break from lining up to buy food and medicine Tuesday and spent their day waiting in crowds to deposit bank notes about to become worthless.

As tempers flared in bank lines, political tensions rose as well, with congress officially charging President Nicolas Maduro with dereliction of duty for driving the South American country into economic ruin.

Maduro made a surprise announcement over the weekend that the 100-bolivar note, having already lost most of its value this year, will be taken out of circulation Wednesday. It is the country's largest-denominated bill and the most widely used.

Monday was a bank holiday, so starting Tuesday morning people lined up before banks opened waiting to deposit their 100-bolivar notes in their accounts. Wealthier Venezuelans skipped the lines and instead carted backpacks full of bills to spend them at restaurants and upscale shopping .

People working in Venezuela's informal economy who keep their savings in cash talked gloomily at taxi stands and street kiosks. About one-third of Venezuelans don't have bank accounts, so have no way to deposit the soon-to-be-worthless bills.

The 100-bolivar note fell in value this year from 10 cents to 2 cents. Some are using the bills to decorate Christmas trees or are handing them out as party at bars.

The socialist government has promised to release higher-denomination notes this week amid the world's highest inflation and widespread shortages of goods. But economists say the rollout will not be fast enough to replace the 100-bolivar note and avoid a temporary freeze on cash transactions. On Tuesday, banks quickly ran out of lower denomination bills.

Along with the surprise decommissioning of the most widely used bill, Maduro shut the border with Colombia this week, saying a 72-hour closure was needed to attack "mafias" that are destabilizing the economy by hoarding hard-to-find bolivar notes and sending them back across the border for huge gain. Critics mocked the idea that gangsters would keep their wealth in the world's fastest devaluing currency.

In a largely symbolic gesture, the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared Maduro responsible for the country's economic and social crisis and said he had failed to complete his duties.

Lawmakers began holding impeachment hearings against Maduro in October, even though Venezuela's congress has no power to remove a president from office. They had put the campaign on hold to engage in Vatican-mediated negotiations with the government, but those talks fell apart last week as the opposition protested the government's lack of concessions and legislators resumed the "trial."

Also on Tuesday, the government released four imprisoned opposition activists. The opposition responded that the four should never have been jailed and accused the government of taking prisoners just to release them later for political points.
Venezuela swaps its bolivar notes with coins in order to curb hyperinflation.