INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES au NEWSLETTER SIGNUP My account Log Out Sep 28, 12:51 PM AEST Business News Sports Technology Entertainment NEWSLETTER My account Log Out Australia edition Business News Sports Technology Entertainment Editions Australia India International Singapore United Kingdom United States NEWSLETTER Follow Us Editions Australia India International Singapore United Kingdom United States Politics & Policy No Choice: Braving The Darien Jungle To Flee Maduro's Venezuela By Juan Jose Rodriguez Published 09/28/24 AT 12:51 PM AEST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on Flipboard Share on Pocket An 80-percent drop in GDP in a decade under Nicolas Maduro has pushed more than seven million Venezuelans to seek a better life elsewhere AFP Oswards Ruiz said he had no choice but to flee Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro claimed reelection in a July election the opposition says he stole. Seated on the ground next to a flimsy tent in a jungle in Panama, the 39-year-old said that, after the vote, he started receiving death threats for supporting the opposition. "The people achieved what we wanted: to win the election.
But they stole it from us," he told AFP. "We were beaten up by the 'colectivos' (pro-Maduro armed groups), and we had to flee..
. I left my country because they wanted to kill me." So Ruiz and a companion traded one life-threatening situation for another, opting for an arduous trek through the Darien jungle separati.