The few gasoline stations still open in Caracas are manned by armed soldiers, and those waiting to fill their vehicles in day-long lines are only security personnel and designated medical and food suppliers.
Under coronavirus quarantine like most of the world, Venezuelans are used to shortages after seven years of economic meltdown. But in the past few weeks, as U.S. sanctions tighten with a vise-like grip, something unprecedented is occurring: the country with the world’s largest oil reserves and one of South America’s biggest refining facilities is nearly out of gasoline.
