samurai sword and guitar with Steven Seagal

While Venezuela is still in deep crisis, President Nicolás Maduro displayed his “gifts” with a samurai sword he gave as a gift Steven seagal, actor and martial arts specialist, who traveled to Caracas as a special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. They also played guitar.

The meeting, which was broadcast on state television, took place in the presidential palace in Miraflores. The famous actor and seventh dan of the Japanese martial art of Aikido got there, who gave him a samurai sword in Maduro.

The president held it up and joked, making several simple katana-style combat-style moves in front of the attentive gaze of the American producer who was present. without using a mask to prevent the coronavirus.

According to local media, the sword the Hollywood figure gave Maduro was the same one he used in one of his film recordings. “Maximum Alert” (1992) and “Corruption Network” (2001) cemented the American’s career as an action film actor.

But there was more. Maduro, for his part, gave him a guitar and they shared a brief musical moment with the instrument. Seagal looked at her with a big smile and started to touch her.

“During the meeting with the American actor Steven Seagal we had the honor to enjoy his musical side, through the guitar. A gift that we made with the love of the Venezuelan people. Thank you for your visit!” , Wrote the Venezuelan president to Twitter

Seagal, 69, has been a Russian citizen since 2006 and is a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin. On this occasion, he visited Venezuela as special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

A descendant of Russian Jewish immigrant paternal grandparents, the actor was appointed Kremlin representative in 2018 and seeks to facilitate relations between Washington and Moscow in humanitarian matters, cultural and artistic exchanges.

Crisis in Venezuela

Maduro announced on Saturday, on the occasion of Labor Day, an increase in the minimum wage by almost 300%, which is not enough for a kilo of meat, in the midst of rampant hyperinflation.

“An increase in the minimum wage to 7 million bolivars comes into force”, equivalent to 2.5 dollars, informed the Minister of Labor, Eduardo Piñate, before a concentration of followers of Chavism in an act on May 1.

The salary, which has increased by 288.8% compared to the current 1.8 million, is supplemented by a food bonus of “3 million bolivars, to reach” a minimum income of 10 million bolivars.

The amount is insufficient to recover the purchasing power of Venezuelans, who are suffering the worst crisis in modern history from his country.

Venezuela records a Economic collapse accentuated by hyperinflation, which records an interannual rate of 3867%, according to the Observatoire des Finances, but which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects at 5500% by the end of 2021.

The government of Nicolás Maduro, hit by international sanctions, led by the United States, which ignores him and favors his departure, had stopped announcing salary increases with great fanfare as in the days of his predecessor Hugo Chávez . In fact, the latest increase hasn’t even been officially released.

JPE