Venezuela pulls 100-bolivar bill out of circulation

President Maduro has also ordered the closure of the Venezuela-Colombia border for three days to combat what he calls the "economic war" against his government.

A woman carries wads of Venezuelan 100-bolivar-bills in Villa del Rosario, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela.
TRT World and Agencies

A woman carries wads of Venezuelan 100-bolivar-bills in Villa del Rosario, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela.

Venezuelans have been arriving with bundles of cash in backpacks to beat the government decision on currency. There's been a rush to banks following the government order to pull the 100-bolivar bill from circulation.

On Sunday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced the decision as a way to combat what he called the "economic war" against his government.

Maduro and his aides accuse opposition parties of deepening the crisis by creating artificial shortages.

The move has choked business and made the notes among the hardest items to find in the already shortage-plagued oil-based economy. Maduro's government has also closed the Venezuela-Colombia border for three days as part of his crackdown against "currency mafias."

The government says it will start replacing the 100-bolivar note, that is worth less than 2 US cents, with larger bills.

TRT World's Juan Carlos Lamas reports from Caracas.

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