; and (C) 75 percent in 2016. (3) According to a Human Rights Watch 2016 report, it is increasingly difficult for many Venezuelans, particularly those in lower- or middle-income families, to obtain adequate nutrition and there are reports of symptoms of malnutrition, particularly in children. (4) Maternal deaths in Venezuela increased by 66 percent from 2015 to 2016 while infant deaths increased by 30 percent. (5) There were 240,000 confirmed malaria cases in Venezuela in 2016—a 76 percent increase over 2015. (6) A recent survey—conducted jointly by the Central University of Venezuela, the Andrés Bello Catholic University, and the Simón Bolivar University—found that almost 75 percent of Venezuelans lost an average of at least 19 pounds in 2016 as a result of a lack of proper nutrition amidst the country’s economic crisis. (7) Despite massive shortages of basic foodstuffs and essential medicines, Nicolás Maduro has rejected repeated requests from the Venezuelan National Assembly and civil society organizations to bring humanitarian aid into the country. (8) The International Monetary Fund has estimated that in Venezuela in 2016 the country’s gross domestic product contracted by 12 percent and inflation rate reached 720 percent, and has stated that Venezuela had the worst growth and inflation performance in the world. (9) The International Monetary Fund has not convened an Article IV Executive Board consultation for Venezuela since September 13, 2004, which greatly limits the extent of information available to the international community about the severity of the Venezuelan economic crisis. (10) Venezuela’s political, economic, and humanitarian crisis is fueling social tensions that are resulting in growing incidents of public unrest, looting, violence among citizens, and an exodus of Venezuelans abroad. (11) These social distortions are taking place amidst an alarming climate of criminal violence. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, Caracas, Venezuela had the highest per capita homicide rate