Losing hope in Venezuela
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2019
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Venezuelans are divided on what caused the crisis in their country and on whether the foreign governments offering help are potential saviours or invaders. In Caracas, Katy Watson hears how people on all sides are losing hope.
Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:
Colin Freeman meets Yasin Abu Bakr the man behind what was probably the only Islamist coup ever to have been attempted in the Western hemisphere. In 1990 Jamaat al Muslimeen took the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago hostage.
Alastair Leithead discovers why the protection of elephants in Botswana is becoming an increasingly politicised issue. Should the meat of culled animals be turned into pet food?
Michelle Jana Chan meets the Bhutanese athlete Dorji Dema, and discovers that archery there can often involve raucous singing, lots of alcohol and hurling insults at opponents.
And Jenny Hill explains how Germany’s love of sausages is expressed in its language as well as its diet.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:04.0 | Hello. Today we meet the man behind the only Islamist coup ever attempted in the West in Trinidad. |
| 0:12.0 | Botswana has long been celebrated as a sanctuary for elephants, but we see signs |
| 0:17.6 | that the poachers have arrived. Raucous singing, drinking, insulting the opposition. |
| 0:23.1 | Yes, it's sport. |
| 0:24.8 | We get an archery lesson in Bhutan, |
| 0:27.8 | and we hear how Germany's love of sausages |
| 0:30.9 | is expressed in its language as well as the diet. |
| 0:35.6 | This week the UN Security Council discussed two rival resolutions. |
| 0:40.4 | One called for foreign aid to be allowed into Venezuela and for new elections, |
| 0:45.0 | arguing that the vote which returned Nicholas Maduro to the presidency was neither free nor fair. |
| 0:51.0 | It was put forward by the US, which, like most European countries, now recognises |
| 0:56.4 | the opposition leader Juan Guido, true head of state. The second resolution put forward by Russia condemned outside interference in the country. |
| 1:06.0 | Both were rejected. |
| 1:08.0 | So as the crisis continues, Katie Watson wanted to hear what Venezuelans think of their leaders now. |
| 1:15.0 | Caracas feels like a summer house that's been forgotten by its owners. |
| 1:20.0 | The grass is yellow, the buildings need a lick of paint, windows need a wash, and the lights are largely turned off. |
| 1:28.0 | Every time I return to the city, it feels more run down, a truly crumbling capital. Yet this time landing in Venezuela |
| 1:36.2 | there was a different vibe. For the first time in years people sounded hopeful about the future. |
| 1:41.5 | The opposition for so long divided and weak has in the past |
| 1:46.0 | month or so been galvanized by their new leader Juan Guaidot. The politician |
| 1:51.3 | often compared to Barack Obama, his smile, his clothes, even his campaign slogan, |
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