Venezuela's food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. While no recent national statistics on sterilizations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Children fill plastic containers with water from a well on a street, close to a neighbourhood called “The Tank” in the slum of Petare in Caracas, Venezuela, March 17, 2016. Although their nation has one of the world's biggest hydroelectric dams and vast rivers like the fabled Orinoco, Venezuelans are still suffering water and power cuts most days. The problems with stuttering services have escalated in the last few weeks: yet another headache for the OPEC nation's 30 million people already reeling from recession, the world's highest inflation rate, and scarcities of basic goods. President Nicolas Maduro blames a drought, while the opposition blames government incompetence. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

A clown plays the violin during the XXI Convention of Clowns, at the Jimenez Rueda Theatre, in Mexico City, Mexico, October 19, 2016. In the wake of the creepy clown sightings in several states of North and South Americas and Europe that caused widespread panic, professional clowns from across Latin America came together at an annual convention in Mexico to give a serious message: “We are clowns, not killers!”. Around 200 clowns took part in the 21st International Clown Convention, dressed in bright coloured clothes and makeup, and chanted the word as they clicked group pictures to counter the “creepy clown” craze. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

Carlos Bahia, dressed as Santa Claus, talks with boys at the Maresias beach, in the state of Sao Paulo December 9, 2014. In the Southern Hemisphere summer starts on December 1, so while countries in the north are experiencing a white Christmas with grey skies, those in the south are busy surfing and sunbathing in temperatures just shy of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Mud Day Queen Riley Tulgetske, left, embraces Mud Day King Phoenix Crowder during Mud Day at the Nankin Mills Park, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Westland, Mich. The annual day is for kids 12 years old and younger. While parents might be welcome, this isn't an event meant for teens or adults. It's all about the kids having some good, unclean fun during their summer break and is sponsored by the Wayne County Parks. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Sergio Valverde Espinoza, a Catholic priest of the Cristo Rey church who modified a popular song called “Sopa de Caracol”, or Snail Soup in English, gestures during a Mass in San Jose, Costa Rica, Sunday, May 2, 2021. Valverde changed the song's lyrics to a message calling for the use of face masks and care during the pandemic. (Photo by Carlos Gonzalez/AP Photo)

General view of “Marie Claire” Magazine Film Exhibition at Oquendo street during 59th San Sebastian Film Festival on September 22, 2011 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

(L-R) Actors Oscar Sinela, Luis Fernandez, Ursula Corbero, Amaia Salamanca, Maxi Iglesias and Alba Ribas attend “XP3D” premiere at the Callao cinema on December 27, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)