Venezuela Shortages Ruining Christmas For Latin American Nation?

Venezuela is no stranger to shortages but the nation's deficits may be reaching a new low, as the government is combating rising prices to prevent Christmas from being canceled. According to President Nicolás Maduro, inspectors will be dispatched to enforce government prices on products ranging from foods to everyday necessities.

"Today we deploy, and in November and December you will see that we have guaranteed a happy Christmas for the people," he said during televised remarks, reports the Associated Press.

The socialist country is no stranger to shortages, as the past year has seen a shortage of many items from AIDS medications and pasta. But according to the government, the recent shortages are due to black market vendors who purchase items at the low government-regulated prices and then resell the items for a higher profit. Maduro's government have promised to capture these "bourgeois criminals" and will be increasing their maximum prison sentence to 14 years.

A recent survey from the polling group Datanálisis, the majority of the Venezuelan public (59.2 percent) disapproves of Maduro's performance as the leader of the South American nation after he succeeded Hugo Chávez.