Venezuela to swap highest denomination banknotes for coins

The Venezuelan government has announced that it will replace the country's highest-denomination banknotes with coins within 72 hours.

President Nicolas Maduro said the flow of 100-bolivar notes – which has lost most of its value over the past few years and is now worth about 2 cents – will be stopped on Wednesday and Venezuelans will be given 10 days to exchange notes at the central bank.

Maduro, during an hour-long speech, added that the move was important to fight smuggling and deal with the chronic shortage of food and other basic items in the country. The President also said that the gangs that function in border areas will not have time to exchange the money.

"I have given the orders to close all land, maritime and air possibilities so those bills taken out can't be returned and they're stuck with their fraud abroad,"  Maduro said.

Economists and critics, however, have condemned the move by the president and slammed it as economically nonsensical. They also added that there would be no way to exchange all the 100-bolivar notes in circulation in the time the president has fixed.

"When ineptitude governs! Who would possibly think of doing something like this in December amid all our problems?" opposition leader Henrique Capriles wrote on Twitter (in Spanish).

Venezuela, which is facing a serious economic and political crisis, has one of the world's highest inflation rates.

Cuando la ineptitud gobierna!A quién se le ocurre hacer algo así en Dic y con las dificultades que hay?Maduro y su cúpula! https://t.co/oaNqDMwlD9

— Henrique Capriles R. (@hcapriles) December 11, 2016