Years of socialist policies have left Venezuelan hospital maternity wards short of vital sign monitors, respirators and even basics such as soap and gauze. In 2016, maternal deaths skyrocketed 65 percent and infant mortality rose 30 percent from the previous year. Experts say that those numbers are likely still bad, but no one knows for sure. The New York Times reports that the official who released the 2016 numbers was fired and those statistics are now treated as state secrets.
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