I'm sorry but you triggered me with the "mainstreems media" bullshit. Is it really inconceivable to you that a country could simultaneously spend lavish sums on some things while allowing the rest of the country to devolve into extreme poverty and chaos? Have you ever traveled to a dictatorial third world country and compared the presidential palace to the neighborhood 5 blocks away? The world is sadly replete with examples of this kind of behavior, even arguably down to your own country that spends more on our military than the next 8 countries of the world combined (4 of which are allies) while allowing it's citizens to die from lack of medical care because we supposedly can't afford it.
Do you really doubt the conditions in Venezuela? Are you calling every reporter who's traveled there and reported on conditions a liar, and you've been there how many times recently? Are you not familiar with this strategy that Venezuela has engaged in for some time of donating money to embarrass richer countries, i.e. the Citgo home heating oil donation program in the U.S. (
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision...a-low-income-americans-warm/story?id=18650347)?