Venezuela became a country mostly without cash on December 16, sparking scattered protests and looting around the country as people fumed at having their already limited purchasing power cut off almost entirely.
As the nation’s most widely used banknote went out of circulation, the higher-denomination bills that were supposed to replace the 100-bolivar note had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs. That forced people to rely on credit cards and bank transfers or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.
Indignation at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual sparked social unrest.
A man burns a 100-bolivar bill during a protest in El Pinal, Venezuela on December 16, 2016. The unrest began that day following this week's surprise pulling from circulation of Venezuela's largest denomination note, 100 bolivars, before replacement bills were available.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holding a new 20000 Bolivar note during a television programme in Caracas on December 15, 2016. Maduro said he had ordered the 100-bolivar unit to be scrapped to combat what he called a US-backed plot against Venezuela. H e said it would strangle mafia and smugglers on the border with Colombia.
People carry goods taken from a supermarket after it was broken into, in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela on December 17, 2016. The demonetisation move left many without the means to pay for food, gasoline or Christmas preparations in a country already reeling from a deep economic crisis.
People carry goods taken from a food wholesaler after it was broken into, in La Fria, Venezuela on December 17, 2016. In the southern mining town of El Callao, where many shops were looted according to locals, a 14-year-old boy died.
A woman buys a drink using Colombian notes due to the lack of Bolivar note near the Simon Bolivar international bridge which links Venezuela with Colombia, on December 17. Maduro ordered the Colombia border to be closed for three days, saying this would stop “international gangs” depositing their hoarded banknotes. The crackdown caused added misery for people who rely on cross-border trade.
People queue to deposit their 100 bolivar notes, outside Venezuela's Central Bank in Caracas on December 16. About 40 percent of Venezuelans do not have bank accounts.
People gather to watch as others try to break into a liquor store in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela o December 17, 2016. In southern Bolivar state, people broke into dozens of shops and warehouses in various towns, witnesses and business leaders said. Authorities declared a curfew in Ciudad Bolivar and the state governor said 135 people had been arrested.
Venezuelan National Guards patrol a street in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela December 17.