'Horror, fear, despair': Venezuela's oil capital shattered by 'tsunami' of violent looting theguardian.com

In the second city of Maracaibo, the crippling blackout sparked a terrifying rampage that police seemed unable to control Some liken the damage wrought on Venezuela’s second city to a natural disaster. Others suspect Satanic intervention. “El demonio,” says Betty Méndez, a local shopkeeper, by way of explanation for the wave of looting and unrest that convulsed Maracaibo earlier this month. Most, however, describe the mayhem in psychiatric terms: a collective breakdown that shocked this lakeside city to its core and offered a terrifying glimpse of Venezuela’s possible future as it sinks deeper into economic, political and social decline.