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President Nicolas Maduro revealed urgent measures at the weekend to combat shortages and rising prices so that families can have a merry Christmas.
He announced the deployment of hundreds of inspectors to enforce price regulations setting maximum costs for a wide range of essentials.
"Today we deploy and in November and December you will see that we have guaranteed a happy Christmas for the people," he said in a TV broadcast.
His announcement was part of expanded efforts to combat chronic shortages, smuggling and inflation.
Warehouses where "bourgeois criminals" were hoarding food and medical supplies have been taken over by the administration.
It has also increased the maximum prison sentence for smugglers, 1,000 of whom have been arrested since Venezuela began closing its border with Colombia each night.