Venezuela's economic crisis is so bad that some women say they're turning to sex work to survive

Sky News

Two Venezuelan women talk to Sky News reporter Alex Crawford about turning to sex work in Colombia.

• Venezuela is suffering with currency inflation, power cuts, earthquakes, and food shortages.
• This is forcing many Venezuelan women to take up sex work in neighbouring Colombia.
• A Sky News investigation broadcast Friday found that 96% of a brothel's workers in Colombia were Venezuelan.
• They have no other way of feeding their families as the currency is so weak and supplies so short.

Venezuelan woman are taking up sex work in neighboring Colombia because the economic crisis in their country has made it impossible to make a living, according to a new investigation.

Cúcuta, one Colombian town near the Venezuelan boarder, is seeing an influx of Venezuelan women working in brothels to get by, according to a report from the town broadcast by Sky News.

These women, and many others, have been forced out as the country is in economic ruin, hyperinflation, has severe power cuts, and food and medicine shortages.

Sky News found that in a Cúcuta brothel out of 60 women, there were just two Colombians, while the rest were Venezuelans.

Reporter Alex Crawford said people in Cúcuta has told them they make as little as $33 per client.

One woman, who appeared on camera but remained anonymous, said: "Anything would be better. I do this because I have to do this."

They have left Venezuela temporarily and have no formal immigration documents - meaning they can't legally get employment, Sky said.

Reuters

People queue for food in Venezuela, August 23 2018.

Venezuela's economy has been in a tailspin for months, prompting drastic measures from the government.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro lopped five zeros from the bolivar on Monday in an attempt to halt rampant hyperinflation that had pushed a packet of rice to 2.5 million bolivars.