Packs of black-market foot soldiers raid Venezuela markets

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83193237/

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No such luck. When I arrived at 9 a.m., the line was the length of a football field and a dozen bachaqueros, dressed in athletic wear and bluejeans, were leaving the store. They lugged nylon bags packed with coffee, milk powder, cooking oil and sugar, all highly coveted items in today's Venezuela. Slinging the precious commodities over their shoulders, they sped away on motorbikes.

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Bachaqueros are the new protagonists in Venezuelans' daily drama of buying food and medical essentials. They are the foot soldiers in a new and highly mobile black market relying on social media, strength in numbers, motorbikes and the convenience — at a price —
at home delivery.
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The new high-tech, high-speed hoarders have replaced many of the street vendors of black market goods shut out in a crackdown by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Maduro has declared "economic war" on black marketers — and also on some private retailers, including the Farmatodo pharmacy chain and Dia a Dia supermarkets, which he nationalized after accusing them of market manipulation.

If anything, things seem to be getting worse. The government this month halved the weekly ration of three essential products: corn flour, to about 41/2 pounds per person; milk powder, to about 2 pounds; and toilet paper, to two rolls.