CARACAS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday new higher-denomination bills were ready, but they were still nowhere to be seen on the streets where Venezuelans with envelopes, backpacks or even suitcases stood in long queues to deposit 100-bolivar bills before they become worthless.
Maduro surprised the inflation-wrought country on Sunday by announcing that he was yanking the 100-bolivar bill, Venezuela's largest, to crack down on Colombian mafias he says are hoarding bolivars to fuel contraband and sabotage his leftist administration.