Outrage in Venezuela as President dines with 'Salt Bae'

Venezuela is currently in the grips of a dire food crisis, with most of its people (who are already living in poverty) unable to afford basic food items. 

Given the everyday circumstances of the country's people, a video showing their president, Nicolás Maduro, enjoying a lavish overseas dining experience was shocking. 

The video was posted with the caption: "While in Venezuela they die of hunger: They reveal images of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores eating in an exclusive restaurant in Istanbul. [sic]"

The President and his wife Cilia Flores enjoyed meat carved by Nusret Gökçe, a Turkish chef and owner of Nusr-Et restaurant. He is popularly known as "Salt Bae". Nusret makes a show of carving the meat while the Venezuelan Statesman and the First Lady watch on. The steaks at Nusret's restaurant reportedly cost between $70 and $250.

The President puffed on a cigar while admiring a T-shirt that the restaurant had gifted to him, adding a final note of indulgence to the experience. 

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Venezuela's people have been forced to devise strategies to survive on one meal a day and there is no relief in sight. The President's actions have been condemned, even across the border in the US, with the Senator of Florida weighing in on the issue. 

In a bid to add context to the video, President Maduro said that he was in Turkey following a trip to China where he had gone hoping to "secure financing for the cash-strapped country".

Image: Yusnaby Pérez

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