Fight for Survival in Caracas Amid Hyper-Inflation
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our top stories this hour. At least six people were killed Sunday when gunmen attacked a Catholic church in central Burkina Faso. State media report a priest is among the dead, and the church and other buildings were set on fire. The West African nation has seen a spike in extremist violent by militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have now withdrawn from the port of Hodeidah in Yemen. The move follows long delays as part of a United-Nations- brokered Stockholm agreement. The Dow is set to fall sharply at Monday's open, and Beijing is expected to retaliate over stalled trade talks with Washington. The United States hiked tariffs to 25 percent on 200 billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods. But President Donald Trump says the U.S. is, quote, "right where we want to be with China." The United Arab Emirates says four commercial vessels have been targeted near the Strait of Hormuz. The alleged sabotage incident reportedly happened off the port city of Fujairah. This comes as the United States has warned of Iranian threats to shipping in the region. After heading to Brussels for talks on Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to visit Russia, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, he dismissed criticism that the U.S. has not been tough enough on Russia.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of folks say, "When are we really going to get tough on Russia?" How much of the Mueller report is going to come into the conversations that you have in the coming days?</s>MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: That's crazy talk. That's absolutely crazy talk. And I've heard it. I've heard it from the previous administration. They say, "Oh, we're not tough on Russia." I only wish they would have stopped the election interference. I only wish they would've put Global Magnitsky on some of the bad actors in Russia in the way this administration. I only wish they hadn't gutted the defense budget, to the great benefit of Vladimir Putin. All right? We -- we've put real money into our Defense Department. Vladimir Putin can't possibly think that's a good thing for him. They gutted the defense budget. The actions that this administration took I would put up against any in terms of our seriousness in pushing back on Russia and raising costs for them. And we can do that at the same time we can have conversations with them and see if there are places that we can find to work together.</s>ALLEN: In Venezuela, the power struggle rolls on. At a rally in Caracas this weekend, National Assembly leader Juan Guaido urged supporters yet again to maintain nationwide protests against President Nicolas Maduro. Meantime, three opposition politicians are now taking refuge in foreign embassies after they and other lawmakers were stripped of their immunity. And as the country's social and economic crisis deepens, and hyper- inflation hits every pocket, Venezuelans are learning that they will have to resort to drastic measures to survive. Our Rafael Romo witnessed the harsh conditions in Caracas. Here's his report.</s>RAFAEL ROMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This family is waiting by an open-air market. In just a few hours, the fruit that doesn't get sold will be disposed of, and that will become their only meal today. "Things are very difficult," this woman says. "We can't buy anything with the money we make." At a nearby park, Marbelia (ph) Hernandez and her children waited all morning long until a good Samaritan showed up. (on camera): How long did you have to wait to get food? "Several hours," she says. This is 21st Century Venezuelan. There's an abundance of rhetoric and propaganda. In the shortage of food.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All social classes of Venezuela are struggling to get enough food. Everybody is trying to make ends meet and looking for alternatives to feed their families.</s>ROMO (voice-over): A seasonal fruit has become the go-to food item to satisfy hunger. (on camera): How affordable are mangoes right now? (voice-over): "They're very cheap," she says. "It's mango season, and prices are very low." There are so many families that depend on mangoes, that the tropical fruit is now known as the hunger suppressor.</s>ROMO: This market coordinator says some people have mangoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The purchasing power for the average Venezuelan has collapsed, due to hyperinflation. (on camera): These are cachapas, a national dish in Venezuela, kind of like a pancake made out of corn. Each one costs about two dollars. The problem is that most people here in Venezuela make an average of five dollars, which tells you a lot about how difficult it is for families to make ends meet. (voice-over): Some people are so desperate that they're willing to put their health at risk, like these men looking for metal in a river that carries sewage. Socialists, who have governed the country for two decades, are calling on people to fight for what they call 21st Century socialism. "You need to produce something in your own home," this national leader says. "It's one way of defending the motherland." Back at the park, Marbelia (ph) Hernandez keeps waiting for food. (on camera): What happens during the rest of the week? How do you make ends meet? (voice-over): "There's no easy answer." Her eyes are full of tears, but her stomach remains empty. Elsewhere in the city, two men knocked down mangoes from a tree, while the hope of striking gold keeps these others wading in sewage. And at markets around Caracas, entire families keep on waiting for the garbage that will become their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Rafael Romo, CNN, Caracas.</s>ALLEN: The U.S. state of Georgia, where we broadcast from, sees a steady stream of money from movie studios. It's called the Hollywood of the East. But coming up here, we look at how a controversial new law in Georgia could change all of that.