The Health Ministry under Antonieta Caporale's released data revealing soaring infant mortality rates this week. Multiple crises have plunged Venezuela into political chaos and conditions seen in war zones.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/C. Becerra
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Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, late on Thursday abruptly dismissed Health Minister Antonieta Caporale, just days after the government broke a two-year silence on statistics to reveal the extent of the country's deepening health crisis.
Ministry figures released this week revealed that there were just under 11,500 cases of child mortality in 2016 - a 30 percent climb on the previous year. Data also showed that cases of maternal deaths, or deaths while pregnant or within 42 days after giving birth, rose by over 65 percent last year to 756 cases. Malaria cases , also thought to have been eradicated in Venezuela, rose by more than 75 percent from the year before, affecting almost 250,000 people.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Medical Federation has warned that hospitals face extreme shortages, with some reporting that they have only 3-percent of the necessary supplies and medicines needed to run normally.
Venezuela on the brink
Venezuela is facing collapse amid multiple crises. DW takes a look at what has brought the oil-rich nation to its knees.
In March 2017, violent protests erupted across the country in response to a Supreme Court decision to strip the legislative branch of its powers. Amid an international outcry, President Nicolas Maduro reversed the decision, but it was too late. Thousands continued to take to the streets, calling for new elections. More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Barreto
Hunger, a growing problem
The violence added to the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans spend more than 30 hours a week waiting in lines to shop, and are often confronted with empty shelves when they finally enter a store. President Maduro blames the crisis on US price speculation. The opposition, however, accuses the Socialist government of economic mismanagement.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/C. Becerra
Health care in crisis
The crisis has even affected health care in the oil-rich nation. Venezuelans often head to Colombia to collect medical supplies to send home, as seen in this picture. Hospitals across Venezuela have compared conditions to those seen only in war zones. As patient deaths rise, health officials have sounded the alarm on the rise of malaria and dengue fever.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M.Duenas Castaneda
Power grab
By July 2017, Venezuela's pro-government Constituent Assembly was established. For observers, it had all the hallmarks of a power grab. The new body adopted the authority to pass legislation on a range of issues, effectively taking away the powers of Venezuela's elected congress, which was under the opposition's control. The move drew wide international condemnation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Miraflores
The West sanctions
In response to the political crisis, the United States and European Union imposed a series of sanctions against ruling officials. The US blacklisted members of the Constituent Assembly and froze all of Maduro's assets that are subject to US jurisdiction. The EU banned arms sales to the country.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AFP/T. Schwarz
Government victorious in regional elections
In October 2017, Venezuela held two votes: regional elections and elections for governors, which were long overdue. The opposition boycotted the vote, but then split, as some candidates and small parties chose to participate. This caused a deep rift within Maduro's opponents. The government went on to sweep the vote, which detractors say was unfair and heavily favored the regime.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
Debt default
In November 2017, the oil-rich, cash-poor nation faced its day of reckoning. Credit ratings agencies declared Venezuela and its state-run oil company in "selective default." But Russia offered to restructure the South American country's debt to ensure Caracas pays its other creditors. US and EU sanctions, however, limited the chance of an agreement.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
Presidential elections scheduled
The National Assembly announced in January 2018 that it would grant Maduro's call for snap presidential elections. The electoral authority, CNE, held the elections on May 20. The EU, the US and 14 Latin American nations warned that they would not recognize the results. The mainstream MUD opposition alliance boycotted the vote, leaving only one possible outcome.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Parra
Maduro wins ...
Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term with about 68 percent of the vote. Turnout was only 46 percent, according to electoral authorities. However, the MUD opposition alliance put turnout at less than 30 percent. The Organization of American States (OAS) called the elections neither free nor fair.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
... Guaido assumes power
But weeks into the new year, the situation took a drastic turn. On January 23, 2019, parliament president Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela — a move that was quickly recognized by US President Donald Trump. Maduro called it a US-backed "coup." Days later, the US sanctioned Venezuela's state oil firm, while Guaido staked his claim on the country's foreign assets.
Image: Imago/Agencia EFE
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Motive for dismissal unknown
Caporale, a trained gynecologist, is to be replaced by Luis Lopez, a pharmacist.
Caporale only took over the role as health minister in January, although the data referred to 2016. Her dismissal was therefore widely thought to have been related to the health data being released to the public.
Announcing the ministerial switch, Vice President Tareck El Aissami declined to answer why Caporale had been dismissed. Later, on Twitter, he wrote that "President Nicolas Maduro is grateful to Doctor Antonieta Caporale for her work."
Francisco Valencia, director of the non-government Coalition of Organizations for the Right to Health and Life, tweeted on Thursday: "Yet another new health minister. What a disaster this government is! Replacing the health minister has become like changing your socks."
Once the region's most prosperous country, recession and currency controls have slashed Venezuela's supply of medicines and vaccines, as well as basic provisions such as food and hygiene products. Doctors have also emigrated in droves, leaving patients with second-rate health treatment, if any at all.
Venezuela also faces a major political crisis, with deadly anti-government protests having paralyzed most of the country for more than a month. The opposition blames Maduro and his government's economic mismanagement for the country's widespread crisis. Maduro, meanwhile, has pointed the finger at external forces seeking to unseat him when explaining the crisis.
dm/kms (Reuters, AFP)
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