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Surviving Venezuela

Tuesday 7 May 2019

"Blood stains on the ground. That’s how my masochistic relationship with Venezuela began," writes Maria Isabel Sachez, who has just finished up a three and a half year posting as AFP bureau chief in the crisis-torn country.

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  • AFP
  • AFP
  • AFP

Worse than the war

Friday 27 July 2018

Managua -- When I was asked to go to Nicaragua, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I wanted to cover the critical situation that was happening there since April and not just read about it – or, more accurately, suffer – from the close-but-not-so-close vantage point of Venezuela. It was a situation that was “worse than the war”the country went through in the 1980s, according to residents

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No end in sight

Friday 12 May 2017

"The alarm clock rings at dawn and I am exhausted as I pry my eyes open," writes Caracas bureau chief Maria Isabel Sanchez. "Then, within moments, the adrenaline starts pumping. I reach for my cell phone to check email, Twitter and WhatsApp. Any early signs where this particular day is heading? Any looting at night? Any more dead? Where are the movements on the street?"

"Welcome to Venezuela, a country where there is always action, but nothing ever happens, a country engulfed in opposition protests demanding the departure of President Nicolas Maduro and in violence that has claimed on average a life per day."

"I and the rest of the AFP team have spent more than 40 days in a constant daze of non-stop work, without having the slightest idea of how -- or when -- it may end."

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  • AFP / Juan Barreto
  • AFP / Juan Barreto

A journey to the center of the Earth

Friday 21 April 2017

"A seemingly endless black hole is at our feet," writes Maria Isabel Sanchez, AFP bureau chief in Caracas.

"We have made the decision to descend into the darkness, but the tension is palpable. One by one, we enter the abyss -- me, video journalist Jesus Olarte and photographer Juan Barreto. This is what we have spent days waiting for. We go down slowly, without looking down, only the light from the headlamp of our guide illuminating the foreboding darkness. We are finally inside one of Venezuela’s myriad of illegal gold mines, a world where violence, impunity and fear reign."

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