Weekly Report - 22 December 2016 (WR-16-50)

President Nicolás Maduro’s Christmas message from the Miraflores palace suggests that he lives in deep isolation from the rest of Venezuela. “After such battling and sacrifice, this country deserves a Christmas in peace, where love and happiness reigns, wrapped in our beautiful traditions, preparing hallacas for the Christmas meal,” Maduro declared in a short video message accompanied by the First Lady Cilia Flores and a group of children. The message, relayed on state television, was presented by Diosdado Cabello, the number two in the ruling Partido Unido Socialista de Venezuela (PSUV).