This week: Nicolás Maduro airs his own hypocrisy by seeking enhanced powers to “tackle corruption;” leading Venezuelan TV news channel Globovisión receives a volley of resignations amid government censorship; the Venezuelan daily newspaper Versión Final is sold to a government supporter,  likely leading to staff dismissals; and ex-managers for Venezuelan oil-giant Pdvsa are charged with corruption. Maduro claims that two Colombian men planned to kill him at the same time as the attack in Syria; despite a lack of evidence, Maduro demands an explanation, arguing President Barack Obama knew of the plot to assassinate him; Henrique Capriles, on the other hand, dismisses the government’s claims of an assassination plot; and Maduro misquotes a Biblical passage, saying “Christ multiplied the penises.” With the bolivar collapsing and prices spiraling higher, the government turns to political witch hunts to distract people from reality; Venezuela is again on the verge of another currency devaluation, likely after December’s municipal elections; Venezuelan authorities insist the country will become an exporting giant, yet non-oil exports are down 20.6% from last year; according to Central Bank statistics, the GDP of Venezuela’s public sector doubles that of the private sector;  and the public debt in Venezuela has drastically increased over the past two years, rising 53% since 2011.

In Venezuela, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, Bloomberg

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has lately been accused of hypocrisy for seeking enhanced powers to rule by decree so that he can tackle the corruption that rots Venezuela’s political institutions. The accusation is fitting. Maduro is finally admitting that the Venezuela he inherited from the late Hugo Chavez is wracked by corruption, just five months after he famously claimed, “There is no corruption, for the first time in the history of Venezuela, in 180 years.”

Venezuelan news TV channel Globovisión receives a volley of resignations, El Universal

“I am only left with job uncertainty, but have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that I always did the right thing,” journalist Román Lozinski read out on his radio show from a personal statement he wrote following his resignation from Globovisión. Resignations have been piling up at the television news network after the retirement of call-in show host Leopoldo Castillo on August 16.

Pressure over sale of Venezuelan daily newspaper Versión Final, El Universal

Workers from Versión Final are likely to be dismissed upon the sale of the daily newspaper to an alleged relative of Francisco Arias Cárdenas, ruling party governor of the state of Zulia, northwest Venezuela. There are reports that the company underwent a lot of pressure prior to the negotiation: it first experienced restrictions related to newsprint, then economic pressure that finally ended in the sale of the company to Carlos Alaimo, the father-in-law of Cárdenas’ son.

Pdvsa’s ex managers in Monagas charged with corruption, El Universal

The Public Prosecutor Ministry charged two former managers of Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) for the collection of VEB 600,000 (US$ 95.279,40) from a contractor. Defendants are Jannimett de Los Ángeles Flores Quijada (37), former legal counsel of Pdvsa in Punta de Mata, and Jorge Natera Barrios(35), former super intendant of litigation at same division.

Maduro: “The plan was to kill me in parallel with the Syria attack”, El Universal

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reported on Wednesday that two Colombian individuals “hired by drug traffickers to kill the Head of State” were arrested. In that sense, Maduro rejected the remarks made by opposition deputy Julio Borges about the assassination claims aired on Monday. “Borges made an irresponsible and anxious statement, saying that (the hit men) that were arrested did not even have firearms to accomplish their task.

Venezuela demands US explanation over alleged assassination plot, The Telegraph

Nicolas Maduro called on the American president to explain what he knew of the alleged assassination plan. President Maduro said that besides Colombia, it was hatched by far-right Venezuelan opposition figures in Miami. The Venezuelan president is a frequent and fiery critic of Washington, as was his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

Capriles: “The people laugh about assassination plots”, El Universal

On Monday, on a meeting with “Miranda’s entrepreneurs,” in Caucagua, Miranda state, Henrique Capriles, Governor of Miranda state and opposition leader, referred to the announcement of the arrest of a gang who allegedly wanted to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro and Deputy Diosdado Cabello.  “Nobody believes that tall story.

Nicolas Maduro Says ‘Christ Multiplied The Penises’ In Major Screw Up (VIDEO), Huffington Post

Christ did WHAT?!? The man who once gave us “Chavez came to me as a little bird” has uttered another phrase that is getting a lot of chatter online. Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, seriously screwed up an iconic biblical anecdote while speaking at the Miranda Stadium when he said: “Multiply ourselves, like Christ multiplied the penises.”

Chavez’s Inflation Bites His Successor, Wall Street Journal

Hyperinflation and political witch hunts seem to go together. Just ask the Venezuelan opposition. With the bolivar collapsing and prices spiraling higher, the government alleged this month that its No. 1 adversary, former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, is linked to a prostitution ring that was using minors in the state of Miranda, where he is governor.

Venezuela is on the verge of another devaluation, El Universal

Imbalances ailing Nicolás Maduro’s government are so pronounced that most financial entities agree that the country, after undergoing stringent adjustments last February 8 through which the official exchange rate jumped from VEB 4.30 to VEB 6.30, is heading towards another devaluation likely to take place after December’s elections for mayors.

Venezuelan non oil exports down 20.6%, El Universal

Venezuelan authorities insist on saying: Venezuela will become an exporting giant. However, official records say the opposite. According to the figures from the Central Bank of Venezuela, non oil exports accounted for just USD 810 million in the second quarter, 20.6% down with respect to a year earlier.

GDP of the public sector doubles that of the private sector, El Universal

The statistics of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) suggest that the loss of dynamism of the Venezuelan economy has exerted a heavier impact on the private sector rather than the public sector with growth reported at 1.1% and 2.6%, respectively. Such great disparity between the sectors is attributed to the existing imbalance in the sale of US dollars aimed at importing raw materials, machinery, and finished products to supply the domestic market.

Debt of the Venezuelan gov’t soars 53% in two years, El Universal

Since 2011, the Venezuelan oil basket price has been above the USD 100 ceiling. In this context of high oil revenues, the Government has spurred indebtedness. Based on the figures of the Ministry of Finance, the public debt grows rapidly with liabilities jumping 53% from the first half of 2011 through 2013. Such increase is mainly attributed to heavy expenditure exceeding regular income, a situation that has made authorities seek other founding sources.

Venezuelan unemployment hits 7.6% in July, El Universal

Venezuelan unemployment rate stood at 7.6% in July, according to a monthly report on the workforce issued by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The information was released by Professor Elías Eljuri, president of the institute, who also said the unemployment rate reported in July was actually lower than that of 2012 (7.9) and 2011 (8.0%).