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Photos: As the sun sets, Venezuela’s capital empties out

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blames his domestic political opponents and the increasing grip of US economic sanctions he says are part of a coup aimed at toppling his socialist government. The opposition, led by lawmaker Juan Guaidó, blames years of corrupt leadership, lack of investment and economic bungling that has left the country dependent on a collapsing oil sector and on remittances sent home by the millions who have fled the growing hardship. Caught between them are everyday Venezuelans, live threadbare. Even the once bustling capital Caracas presents scenes of a city dying.

Updated on: Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM IST

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1/10

The moon rises at sunset in Caracas. When the sun goes down in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, the once-thriving metropolis empties under darkness. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

The moon rises at sunset in Caracas. When the sun goes down in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas, the once-thriving metropolis empties under darkness. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

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A food vendor waits for customers. Residents avoid stepping outside their homes due to crime — or for lack of anything to spend — as a creeping economic collapse has accelerated amid a political battle between socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his foes at home and abroad. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

A food vendor waits for customers. Residents avoid stepping outside their homes due to crime — or for lack of anything to spend — as a creeping economic collapse has accelerated amid a political battle between socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his foes at home and abroad. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

3/10

A billboard featuring Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is seen through an empty one. Even under the light of day, billboards often have nothing to promote, their skeletal framework bare long after the wind has ripped away old advertising. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

A billboard featuring Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is seen through an empty one. Even under the light of day, billboards often have nothing to promote, their skeletal framework bare long after the wind has ripped away old advertising. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

4/10

The Spanish words “It rotted” cover a shuttered shop. Many storefronts are just graffiti-scrawled security doors chained shut. Often just a single business along a city block is able to stay open, awaiting sparse customers. Others close earlier, like a beauty salon, its few remaining clients forced to decide between the simple luxury of haircut or buying food. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

The Spanish words “It rotted” cover a shuttered shop. Many storefronts are just graffiti-scrawled security doors chained shut. Often just a single business along a city block is able to stay open, awaiting sparse customers. Others close earlier, like a beauty salon, its few remaining clients forced to decide between the simple luxury of haircut or buying food. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

5/10

Surrounded by shuttered shops, Rosa Luque hangs a list of her menu’s offerings: beef, pork, liver, chicken and meatballs, as she opens her restaurant. The sign reads in Spanish: “Yes there’s lunch,” and lists prices around a dollar. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

Surrounded by shuttered shops, Rosa Luque hangs a list of her menu’s offerings: beef, pork, liver, chicken and meatballs, as she opens her restaurant. The sign reads in Spanish: “Yes there’s lunch,” and lists prices around a dollar. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

6/10

A woman walks through a small shopping center where almost all the shops are shuttered. Caracas’ La Mercedes neighbourhood, famous for its upscale shopping and nightlife, hasn’t been spared. Many of its pubs and fancy restaurants are devoid of waiters and customers. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

A woman walks through a small shopping center where almost all the shops are shuttered. Caracas’ La Mercedes neighbourhood, famous for its upscale shopping and nightlife, hasn’t been spared. Many of its pubs and fancy restaurants are devoid of waiters and customers. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

7/10

High-rise buildings stand unfinished, the workers having long ago abandoned their jobs. Windows are covered over with cardboard rather than finished with glass. The poor and hungry scour through household trash, scattering it across street corners before it’s collected, grabbing anything they can use or eat. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

High-rise buildings stand unfinished, the workers having long ago abandoned their jobs. Windows are covered over with cardboard rather than finished with glass. The poor and hungry scour through household trash, scattering it across street corners before it’s collected, grabbing anything they can use or eat. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

8/10

A man lines up used batteries in an attempt to sell them, at a market under a road bridge. Residents desperate for cash have transformed patches of sidewalk into their impromptu shops, laying out old shoes or second-hand shirts as merchandise. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

A man lines up used batteries in an attempt to sell them, at a market under a road bridge. Residents desperate for cash have transformed patches of sidewalk into their impromptu shops, laying out old shoes or second-hand shirts as merchandise. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

9/10

Used shoes and cell phones fill a wall at a market set up by residents under a road bridge. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

Used shoes and cell phones fill a wall at a market set up by residents under a road bridge. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

10/10

The moon rises above an empty avenue in Caracas. Many street lights don’t work. A string of devastating nationwide blackouts last month dramatized the decay. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

Updated on Apr 06, 2019 1:18 PM

The moon rises above an empty avenue in Caracas. Many street lights don’t work. A string of devastating nationwide blackouts last month dramatized the decay. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

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