Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has again
extended the deadline to withdraw from
circulation the country's most common currency
note.
The deadline had been set for 2 January but will
now be on 20 January.
Mr Maduro said he did not want Venezuelans to
worry about exchanging the currency near the
New Year festivities.
Venezuelans had been initially given 72 hours in
mid-December to swap their 100 bolivar notes,
sparking chaos.
The borders with Colombia and Brazil were also
closed for eight days as part of a coordinated
action against what Mr Maduro called "smuggling
mafias".
They sell products subsidised by Venezuela's
socialist government, including petrol and
medicines, at high profit margins.
Rampant inflation
The gangs also have stacked huge amounts of
cash in warehouses abroad, Mr Maduro said.
They would lose most of their money under the
withdrawal, as it would be impractical for them
to repatriate truck loads of currency notes and
swap them at bank branches.
After Mr Maduro's announcement on 11
December, most shop owners in Venezuela began
rejecting the notes.
Long queues outside bank branches, while in
some areas supermarkets and shops were looted.
Mr Maduro then decided to delay the deadline to
scrap the 100 bolivar note.
He has ordered new higher denomination notes,
but they are not yet in circulation.
Venezuela has one of the highest inflation rates in
the world.
The government last published figures for inflation
in December 2015, putting it at 180%, but the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates next
year's prices will rise by more than 2,000%.
The 100 bolivar note has lost most of its value
and is now worth around 2 US cents.
The Venezuelan economy has been hit hard by
the fall in the price of oil, its main source of
income. It also has had strict currency controls in
place since 2003.
