Venezuela Toilet Paper Bust: Police Seize 2,500 Rolls From Clandestine Warehouse

[Twisted Titan]

It had all the makings of a routine bust: an anonymous tipoff to the cops, a raid on a hideout, a triumphant Interior Ministry tweet. The loot? Roll after roll of toilet paper.


The government said police had found 2,450 bales of toilet paper in a working class neighborhood called Antimano, west of Caracas, thanks to an anonymous phone call to a police tipoff line.



The paper was stored "in a clandestine warehouse," Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said on Twitter.
Also seized were 7,000 liters of fruit juice and 400 packages of diapers.


An investigation has been launched to determine where all the merchandise came from and who it was for, National Police chief Luis Karabin said.

Venezuela may be oil rich, but its economy is struggling.

Toilet rolls are one of the five most sought-after basics that are in severe shortage, the others being toothpaste, toilet soap, diapers and feminine hygiene napkins.

Price controls and red tape, which makes it hard for would-be importers to get the hard currency they need to buy the products, have contributed to the shortage.

The government of the new president Nicolas Maduro announced this month it was importing 50 million rolls of toilet paper. And Congress approved an 80 million dollar loan to import loads of the five scarce essentials.

The shortages have prompted the government to hold meetings with businessman in various economic sectors.

They have even accused the conservative opposition of hoarding toilet paper and other essentials to sabotage the economy.

Price controls were introduced for certain basic goods in 2003 after an oil industry strike paralyzed the economy, sent inflation soaring and led to shortages of goods.
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[Twisted Titan]

And somewhere out in the ethos .....

Ponce Trembles.

Just a bit.

[Twisted Titan]

Toilet rolls are one of the five most sought-after basics that are in severe shortage, the others being toothpaste, toilet soap, diapers and feminine hygiene napkins.


Great items to to stack mighty deep while times are still civil.

[Twisted Titan]

CARACAS, Venezuela (TheBlaze/AP) — Amid Venezuela’s growing scarcities, not even the Roman Catholic Church has received a dispensation.

According to church officials, shortages and restrictions are causing a lack of crucial ingredients needed to celebrate Mass: altar wine as well as wheat to produce communion wafers.

National church officials are currently asking churches to ration their wine and wafers “during this emergency,” Reuters reports.

“We only have enough for two months,” said Archbishop Roberto Luckert, a spokesman for the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference.

The church’s concerns echo those of Venezuelans in general, who have struggled to find basic goods like toilet paper and staple food items like milk, sugar and cooking oil.

Economists say the shortages stem from the socialist government’s controls on the prices of some goods and on foreign currency, which makes it hard for producers to pay for things they need to import.

But President Nicolas Maduro blames the shortages on hoarding and says anti-government forces are trying to destabilize the country.



Venezuela has maintained strict currency controls since 2003, creating a black market that now sells dollars at more than triple the official rate of 6.3 bolivars. Falling oil exports and foreign investment have also helped dry up the dollar supply.

The church is considering asking the government for access to dollars, but it hasn’t made a formal request so far, Luckert said.

.The shortage of wheat flour has compounded the problems for the church, because the host, or wafer, administered during Holy Communion must be made of wheat. The wafers are made by nuns in convents and parish houses.

“Sometimes we spend days trying to get two or three bags,” said Sister Maria de los Angeles, a 49-year-old nun shopping in a small grocery store in Caracas.

Though the government has announced mass imports of basic food items and toilet paper, many products seem to run out shortly after they hit the shelves.

Liliana Escobar, a 32-year-old housewife, was among those lined up this week outside store rumored to have received a fresh shipment of toilet paper.

“On top of losing hours in order to buy four rolls of paper, now we won’t even be able to receive communion as God commands,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”

[Glass]

does god really command the communion or is it just his cleric that demands it? Like many protest-ants the communion bothers me greatly.

But yes things are bad on the ground and the women are suffering the worst for it. I know people there and it's pretty tough at the moment. Maybe we need to crowd fund an emergency supplies drop over Caracus? Try and stop them going the full Cuban embargo scenario.

[Ponce]

HUMMMMMMMM I also must have an "illegal" collection of tp....government always going against those who think head because they cannot think at all.

V

[Serpo]

These people are the Hunt brothers of TP

[Ponce]

Serpo?............."ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?"

v

[Serpo]

Serpo?............."ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?"

v

No the people hoarding the stuff in the OP ,but now that you mention it ....................