Venezuela is experiencing a renewed inflation surge as U.S. military pressure and long-running sanctions squeeze foreign currency inflows. The bolívar has lost roughly 70% of its value in three months, pushing daily price rises and making basic meals in Caracas cost the equivalent of $8–$10 while the official monthly minimum wage remains under $1. Private consultants estimate monthly inflation in Caracas at 20–30%; the IMF pegs annual inflation at about 270% and warns it could top 600% by October 2026. The crisis is worsened by reduced oil revenues, an active black market for dollars, and growing reliance on crypto and remittances.
Bolivar Collapse: Inflation Returns to Venezuela’s Streets as U.S. Pressure and Sanctions Bite
Venezuela is experiencing a renewed inflation surge as U.S. military pressure and long-running sanctions squeeze foreign currency inflows. The bolívar has lost roughly 70% of its value in three months, pushing daily price rises and making basic meals in Caracas cost the equivalent of $8–$10 while the official monthly minimum wage remains under $1. Private consultants estimate monthly inflation in Caracas at 20–30%; the IMF pegs annual inflation at about 270% and warns it could top 600% by October 2026. The crisis is worsened by reduced oil revenues, an active black market for dollars, and growing reliance on crypto and remittances.
11:54 AM, 11/11/2025Economy
Inflation surges again as geopolitical pressure and economic strain deepen
As Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro confronts mounting U.S. military pressure and long-standing sanctions, inflation has reappeared as a palpable and painful reality across Venezuela. Shopkeepers, street vendors and ordinary families are seeing prices rise day by day, while the national currency, the bolívar, has plunged in value.
“Prices are growing every day,” said Yon Michael Hernandez, 25, a motorcycle taxi driver in the Petare slum east of Caracas. “Corn flour is 220 bolivars today, it may be 240 tomorrow and 260 the day after… a package that might have cost one dollar 15 days ago is worth three now.”
Official central bank figures show the bolívar depreciated by roughly 70% against the U.S. dollar over a three-month span, losing value at about one point a day. On the widely used but illegal black market, a dollar trades for roughly one-third more than the official rate (the government forbids publishing black-market rates).
The spike in prices is linked — though not solely — to rising tensions between the U.S. and the Maduro government, which has faced Treasury Department sanctions for nearly a decade. U.S. policy changes affecting Venezuela’s oil sector, including a renegotiated Chevron license that shifted some payments to in-kind oil rather than cash, have reduced legitimate foreign exchange inflows. That has pushed Caracas to rely more on discounted, illicit oil sales and other workarounds.
Daily life under renewed price shocks
For many Venezuelans still traumatized from pre-pandemic hyperinflation, the new price increases revive a familiar nightmare. A basic bakery breakfast — a croissant and café con leche — can cost the equivalent of $8–$10 in Caracas, while the official monthly minimum wage remains under $1.
Remittances from the more than seven million Venezuelans living abroad are a crucial lifeline, but rising local prices and currency volatility are eroding their purchasing power. “I had to increase what I send my parents every month, but even with that it’s not enough,” said Diego Mejias, an architect living in Colombia.
Data opacity and government response
The central bank stopped publishing inflation reports in October, after 20 months of single-digit inflation, and independent economic reporting has become sensitive. In July, several economists — including former finance minister Rodrigo Cabezas — were briefly detained after offering pessimistic views; authorities said the comments were destabilizing. Publishing economic figures is increasingly taboo, prompting private consultants to speak anonymously for safety.
Authorities have also cracked down on the black-market dollar trade: in June the attorney general announced arrests and seized websites accused of “manipulating exchange rates.” Those measures have not arrested the bolívar’s decline.
Crypto, remittances and a volatile outlook
To offset lost revenues, the government has encouraged expanded use of cryptocurrencies, licensed exchange houses under the National Superintendence of Crypto Assets (Sunacrip), and reportedly explored using crypto in oil transactions. Venezuela ranks high in regional crypto adoption, and many Venezuelans use platforms like Binance to buy dollars or other hard currency alternatives.
The International Monetary Fund estimated annual inflation at roughly 270%, up from an earlier 180% estimate, and warned it could exceed 600% by October 2026. Private consultants consulted for this reporting estimated monthly inflation in Caracas at 20–30%, with regional variation: prices are somewhat lower nearer the Colombian border where imports are more common.
With limited official data, a shaky oil trade and geopolitical pressure, Venezuelans face renewed economic hardship. Many are increasingly reliant on foreign currency, crypto, and remittances to meet basic needs as the bolívar’s decline accelerates.
Reporting draws on interviews with private consultants, residents, and public statements from government and international institutions. CNN sought comment from Venezuela’s vice president in charge of finances and from Chevron.