In oil-rich Venezuela, mile-long lines to buy gas in major city

MARACAIBO, Venezuela — U.S. sanctions on oil-rich Venezuela appear to be taking hold, resulting in mile-long lines for fuel in the South American nation’s second-largest city, Maracaibo.

Some drivers said they’d had to wait almost 24 hours to fuel up, and people have been grabbing catnaps on the hoods of cars or in truck beds.

Nearing empty and stuck in line, infectious diseases doctor Yoli Urdaneta said she couldn’t make her shift to treat patients.

“I’ve spent four days trying to get gasoline,” Urdaneta said. “But I couldn’t.”

Russ Dallen, a Miamibased partner at the brokerage firm Caracas Capital Markets, said Sunday that stiff U.S. sanctions on top of Venezuela’s decaying refineries has begun to hit home.