“The tower is an icon of modern-day Caracas. Although squats or “occupied spaces” are common downtown, the Tower of David has literally taken the phenomenon to whole new levels. The third-tallest building in the country, it was intended as a financial center but abandoned after its developer died and the financial sector crashed. Squatters have now occupied the tower for years. Its unfinished, humongous, modified skeleton can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. The stories of what happens inside have become the stuff of urban legend.

The place could be the perfect setting for what the Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa has called the “novela total” or “complete novel” – a book that encompasses the many and contradictory aspects of life. The tower is a physical example of the greatest problems faced by Venezuelan society: a great scarcity of housing, and a security crisis. It is also a symbol of what happened after the collapse of the country’s financial system in the 1990s and of the historical juncture at which Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution now finds itself”. – Jorge Silva via Reuters

A skyscraper known as the “Tower of David” is seen in Caracas January 31, 2014. It boasts a helicopter landing pad, glorious views of the Avila mountain range, and large balconies for weekend barbecues. Yet a 45-storey skyscraper in the center of Venezuela's capital Caracas is no five-star hotel or swanky apartment block: it is a slum, probably the highest in the world. Dubbed the "Tower of David", the building was intended to be a shining new financial center but was abandoned around 1994 after the death of its developer - banker and horse-breeder David Brillembourg – and the collapse of the financial sector. Squatters invaded the huge concrete skeleton in 2007, then-president Hugo Chavez's socialist government turned a blind eye, and now about 3,000 people call the tower their home. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

People walk along a corridor on the 10th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 6, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Children play in the lobby of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas January 29, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A view of the lobby from the top of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A skyscraper known as the “Tower of David” is seen in Caracas February 5, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Men salvage metal on the 30th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Men rest after salvaging metal on the 30th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. A 45-storey skyscraper in the center of Venezuela's capital Caracas is a slum, probably the highest in the world. Dubbed the “Tower of David”, the building was intended to be a shining new financial center but was abandoned around 1994 after the death of its developer – banker and horse-breeder David Brillembourg – and the collapse of the financial sector. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Gabriel Rivas, 30, lifts weights on a balcony on the 28th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 9, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Adriana Gutierrez and her son Carlos Adrian watch TV as they sit on their bed in their 24th floor apartment inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Children ride bicycles on one of the top inhabited floors of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 9, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A man, who is on his way to work, walks through the lobby of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A woman walks on a roof of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A girl rides a bicycle on a balcony in the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Thais Ruiz (36) talks on the telephone and drinks coffee as she sits under a crack in the roof of her living room on the 27th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Paola Medina (29) packs as she prepare to leave her apartment after living in the “Tower of David” skyscraper for almost a year. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Men salvage metal on the 30th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Maria works in a sewing workshop in her apartment inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Boys play basketball in a garage at the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Children stand along the corridors at the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by /Reuters)

Nicolas Alvarez speaks on the telephone in his apartment on the 27th floor of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 5, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Jose Aular poses next to a portrait of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez in his apartment inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 6, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Adriana Gutierrez sits in the living of her 24th floor apartment inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Francisco, 18, cooks in his apartment inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 9, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Beatriz fills out a crossword while taking care of her grandchildren outside their apartment, inside of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A woman looks out of a window at her shop in a corridor inside the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Clothes hang to dry at the top of the “Tower of David” skyscraper in Caracas February 3, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A skyscraper known as the “Tower of David” is seen in Caracas January 22, 2014. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)