CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela became a country mostly without cash on Friday, sparking scattered protests and looting around the country as people fumed at having their already limited purchasing power cut off almost entirely.

As the nation’s most widely used banknote went out of circulation, the higher-denomination bills that were supposed to replace the 100-bolivar note had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs. That forced people to rely on credit cards and bank transfers or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.

Indignation at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual sparked social unrest. Police put down looting near a bank building in the large western city of Maracaibo with several arrests. Young men marched down the street after growing tired of waiting outside the bank to turn in their money. They waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted “they’re useless,” then turned and ran as police in full riot gear began firing tear gas canisters.

Mobs looted several businesses in the remote eastern state of Bolivar. In total, authorities said there were protests and looting in six cities, leading to 32 people being detained and one injured.

In Caracas, some people passed the day banging on pots and cursing the government’s apparent lack of planning. There was no cash to be seen changing hands on the street or inside shops, and no sign that the new bills were on their way.

President Nicolas Maduro made a surprise announcement Sunday that the 100-bolivar note would go out of circulation by the week’s end amid the world’s highest inflation. He also temporarily closed the border with Colombia and Brazil, and then on Thursday night extended the border closure for another 72 hours.

Maduro said the closure was needed to thwart “mafias” who hoard bolivars. Critics mocked the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world’s fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill – until now the country’s largest denomination – is worth little more than 2 cents, down from 10 cents at the start of the year.

The embattled president held up a new 500-bolivar bill on his television show Thursday, promising the new banknotes would soon be in wide circulation and offering to temporarily cut sales tax for credit card transactions. But on Friday, ATMs were still issuing only the now-worthless 100-bolivar notes.

Maduro also said the government has begun to circulate new 100- 50- and 10-bolivar coins, but few seem to have reached the public.

On Friday, Maduro said the ploy to undermine the criminals had worked.

“We’ve burned the mafia’s hands,” he said. “That there were some difficulties, and that there may be some difficulties going forward was inevitable.”

Venezuelans waited in lines hundreds of people long all week to deposit their cash. On Thursday, shopkeepers put up signs saying 100-bolivar bills would no longer be accepted. That meant many people looking to buy groceries or take taxis were out of luck, as banks had run out of lower-denomination bills like 50- and 20-bolivar notes during the week, and had not yet received the higher-denomination replacements.

Amid the currency chaos, the U.S. cautioned citizens against visiting the economically spiraling South American country.

“Political rallies and demonstrations occur with little notice, and are expected to occur with greater frequency in the coming months,” the State Department said in a travel warning. “If security climate worsens, US citizens should note they’re responsible for arranging their own travel out of Venezuela.”

But there was little sign of political activity of any kind Friday, as people scrambled to figure out how to exchange bolivars for goods and services in an economy essentially operating without paper money.

Hannah Dreier is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hannahdreier . Her work can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone .

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended on Saturday the elimination of the country’s largest denomination bill, which had sparked cash shortages and nationwide unrest, saying the measure would be postponed until early January.

The surprise pulling of the 100 bolivar note from circulation this week - before new larger bills were available - led to vast lines at banks, looting at scores of shops, anti-government protests and at least one death.

Maduro, speaking from the presidential palace, blamed a “sabotage” campaign by enemies abroad for the delayed arrival of three planes carrying the new 500, 2,000 and 20,000 bolivar notes.

“One plane, contracted and paid for by Venezuela, was told in flight to change direction and go to another country,” he said, without specifying who had given the orders. “There’s another which was not given flyover permission.”

The 100 bolivar bills, officially out of use since Thursday and worth just 4 U.S. cents at the black market currency rate, can now be used until Jan. 2, Maduro said.

Many Venezuelans had found themselves without the means to pay for food, gasoline or Christmas preparations in a country already reeling from a profound economic crisis.

About 40 percent of Venezuelans do not have bank accounts, and so cannot use electronic transactions as an alternative to cash.

Adding to the chaos, Venezuela has the world’s highest rate of inflation, meaning large bags of cash must be humped around to pay for basic items.

Venezuelan National Guards clash with demonstrators in La Fria, Venezuela December 17, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez

‘STUPID AND DESTRUCTIVE’

In the southern mining town of El Callao, a 14-year-old boy was shot dead during looting on Friday, authorities confirmed. An opposition legislator reported three fatalities.

The Democratic Unity opposition coalition said the socialist leader should resign for incompetence and for inflicting yet more suffering on Venezuelans.

“We have a government utterly stupid and destructive in economic management, whose only goal is to keep power at whatever price,” said opposition leader Julio Borges.

Maduro had justified the 100 bolivar note’s elimination as a way of strangling mafia and smugglers on the frontier with Colombia. He has also closed border crossings with Colombia and Brazil until Jan. 2.

Earlier on Saturday, about 400 people in western Tachira state jumped fences and defied security personnel to surge into Colombia in search of food and medicines, which are scarce in Venezuela, witnesses said.

In southern Bolivar state, people broke into dozens of shops and warehouses in various towns, witnesses and business leaders said. Authorities declared a curfew in Ciudad Bolivar and the state governor said 135 people had been arrested.

Security forces fired teargas in Venezuela’s largest second city, Maracaibo, to stop looters, witnesses said. Some protesters burned 100 bolivar bills.

Slideshow (13 Images)

Addressing thousands of supporters at a rally in Caracas, Maduro blamed the opposition for stirring violence and said some members of the Justice First and Popular Will parties were arrested for colluding with mafias.

The 54-year-old successor to Hugo Chavez, whose popularity has plunged during three years of recession, says domestic political foes supported by the United States are sabotaging the economy to undermine his government.

Critics say it is time for Maduro to go after 18 years of socialist policies have wrecked the economy. But authorities have stymied an opposition push for a referendum to remove him before the next presidential election due in late 2018.</s>The socialist leader pulled the 100 bolivar note this week before new bills were in circulation, creating a national cash shortage on top of the brutal economic crisis overshadowing Venezuelans' Christmas and New Year holidays.

After two days of unrest over the measure - including one death and dozens of shops ransacked - Maduro on Saturday postponed the measure until Jan. 2.

That helped stem violence, though there were still reports of more lootings in southern Ciudad Bolivar on Sunday.

The detainees include leaders and members of the opposition Popular Will and Justice First parties, Maduro said on state TV, accusing them of following U.S. instructions to incite chaos.

"Don't come and tell me they are political prisoners ... They are the two parties of the 'gringos' in Venezuela," he added, accusing President Barack Obama of wanting to engineer a coup against socialism in Venezuela before leaving office.

From Venezuela's southern jungle and savannah to the Andean highlands in the west, groups of hundreds of protesters have been burning bolivar notes, cursing Maduro and decrying scarcities of food and medicines.

The worst looting was on Friday and Saturday, especially in El Callao and Ciudad Bolivar in the southern state of Bolivar, and police have used teargas to control crowds in some places.

Chinese-run shops have been particularly targeted, witnesses say, and a 14-year-old boy was shot dead in El Callao on Friday.

The governor of Bolivar state said there were 262 arrests there, with lootings from food shops to science laboratories. The local business group said 350 businesses had been ransacked in Ciudad Bolivar, including 90 percent of food outlets.

In Santa Elena de Uairen, near the border with Brazil, shopkeepers and inhabitants formed vigilante groups to join police and soldiers after six shops were ransacked on Saturday.

"We're not lowering our guard, we're forming protection brigades," said local business group leader Gilmer Poma.

Food prices were reduced in some establishments in Santa Elena as a way to defuse tensions.

Maduro, a 54-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister who replaced Hugo Chavez in 2013, has seen his popularity plunge during a three-year recession. He justified the currency measure as a way of suffocating mafia on Venezuela's borders.

But opponents say it is further evidence of disastrous economic policy in a nation reeling from runaway prices and shortages of basics. They want him to resign.

"The only person guilty of the chaos and violence of recent days is Nicolas Maduro," the Justice First party said, accusing intelligence agents of taking advantage of the situation to frame opposition leaders with false evidence.

With the 100 bolivar bill originally out of circulation from Friday, many Venezuelans had found themselves unable to purchase food or fill up cars in the busy run-up to Christmas.

"As if we don't have enough to cope with anyway, now they inflict this craziness on us," said a grandmother in Caracas, Zoraida Gutierrez, 74, who spent a day lining up under the sun to deposit cash she had under her bed.

Despite Maduro's suspension of the measure on Saturday, some businesses were still refusing the notes on Sunday.

Maduro has been urging Venezuelans to use electronic transactions instead of cash where possible, but 40 percent of the country's 30 million people are without bank accounts.

With many people already skipping meals to get by and forced to sacrifice traditional Christmas food and presents, this week's confusion has further exasperated many.

Maduro's popularity recently hit a record low of under 20 percent, according to local pollster Datanalisis.

But Venezuelan authorities thwarted an opposition push this year for a referendum to remove him. That put Maduro on track to finish his term in early 2019 but increased the potential for social unrest due to the lack of an immediate electoral outlet.

Maduro said the first batch of new currency notes would arrive in Venezuela on Sunday afternoon. The government is introducing larger bills of up to 20,000 bolivars. (Additional reporting by María Ramírez in Ciudad; Editing by Mary Milliken)</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Saturday extended the use of its 100-bolivar bill until Jan. 2, after its decision to pull the banknote out of circulation left the country largely without cash, and sparked protests and looting.

President Nicolas Maduro said the decision to put Venezuela’s most widely used note back in use came after the promised higher-denomination replacement bills were still unavailable because three planes transporting them were “victims of sabotage.” He did not give details of the alleged sabotage.

The “new logistics” of rolling out the banknotes, including the 500-bolivar bill, meant that their launch would have to wait, Maduro said in a televised address.

Venezuela is plagued by the world’s highest inflation, and Maduro made the surprise announcement that the 100-bolivar note would be replaced a week ago. All week, Venezuelans waited in long lines to deposit their soon-to-be-worthless 100-bolivar notes in banks.

When the bill went out of circulation on Friday and the replacement bills had not yet arrived at banks or ATMs, people were forced to rely on credit cards or bank transfers, or to try to make purchases with bundles of hard-to-find smaller bills often worth less than a penny each.

Anger at having to deal with an economy even more paralyzed than usual exploded in social unrest.

“Our children are going hungry,” said Lucrecia Morales in Caracas. “We are parents who earn money with the sweat off our brows. And now they say it is worthless? We need a solution.”

Authorities said there were protests and looting on Friday and early Saturday in at least six cities, including Maracaibo, where police put down looting near a bank building, and the eastern state of Bolivar, where mobs looted several businesses. Young men waved their 100-bolivar bills in the air and chanted “they’re useless,” then turned and ran as police fired tear gas canisters. Dozens of people were arrested.

In Caracas, people banged on pots and cursed the government’s apparent lack of planning. There was no cash to be seen changing hands on the street or inside shops.

On Saturday, hundreds of government supporters and ruling party members dressed in red shirts marched in Caracas to back Maduro and protest the “economic war” against Venezuela.

In addition to putting the old currency back in circulation, Maduro said he would extend the closure of the border with Colombia and Brazil until Jan. 2. He has said the move aims to thwart “mafias” who hoard bolivars, leading critics to mock the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world’s fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill is worth little more than 2 cents.

Only foot traffic for family visits will be allowed, he said. Despite the closure, dozens of Venezuelans knocked down barricades set up on the bridge between Urena, Venezuela and Cucuta, Colombia to cross over and buy food.

The currency chaos comes as the oil-rich nation struggles with a contracting economy and empty store shelves. Venezuela has maintained strict currency controls since 2003.</s>President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday gave Venezuelans a few days to ditch the 100-bolivar bills, arguing the measure was needed to combat mafias on the Colombia border despite warnings from some economists that it risked sparking chaos.

Venezuela's opposition says this latest measure is further evidence that Maduro is destroying the economy and must be removed. Authorities have blocked a vote against the leftist leader, however, leaving social unrest as a possible wild card in the volatile country.

With new bills, originally due on Thursday, still nowhere to be seen, many Venezuelans on Friday were unable to fill their car tank to get to work, buy breakfast, or get gifts ahead of Christmas.

Many cash machines were broken or empty, shops struggled to be paid, and tips vanished.

"We feel this is a mockery," said bus driver Richard Montilva as he and some 400 others blocked a street outside a bank in the town of El Pinal in Tachira state near Colombia.

Maduro held up the new bills during a televised broadcast on Thursday night and said they would come into circulation soon. But there was increasing nervousness on the streets that the notes were not ready.

The circulation of the new notes "is a mystery to us too," said a source at the central bank, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Outside the central bank in Caracas on Friday, thousands of Venezuelans queued up to swap their 100 bolivar bills before a final Tuesday deadline under the watch of National Guard soldiers. One orange and avocado vendor offered to buy them up for 80 bolivars.

Maduro's shock decision is stoking anger among weary Venezuelans who have for years already stood in long lines for food and medicine amid product shortages and triple-digit inflation.

Six businesses in the isolated Bolivar state were looted on Friday after stores refused to accept the soon-to-be defunct bills, said the mayor of El Callao, Coromoto Lugo, who belongs to the opposition.

Maduro blames the crisis on an "economic war" waged against his government to weaken the bolivar currency and unseat him. Critics scoff at that explanation, pointing instead to state controls and excessive money printing.

"I want a change in government. I don't care about changing the bills; they're not worth anything anyway," said Isabel Gonzalez, 62, standing in line at the central bank on Friday.

She said she had just enough cash to get a bus home.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s president said Sunday that the sudden decision to scrap the country’s most-used currency bill was an economic triumph over the country’s enemies even as the government sent troops and police to cities where riots and looting broke out over the measure.

In a national radio and television broadcast, Nicolas Maduro said his abrupt action had flooded the country’s banks with currency deposited by Venezuelans racing to get rid of the paper bills while also devastating Colombian-border currency traders he blames for the bolivar’s precipitous plunge in value against “the criminal dollar.”

Last week’s sudden announcement annulling all 100-bolivar notes led to massive lines at banks, a dramatic spurt in electronic payment and widespread fear by poorer people with no bank accounts and all their savings in the doomed bills, whose value had already plunged to a few U.S. cents. Cash transactions such as buying food or gasoline became extremely difficult.

Maduro suddenly changed course late Saturday, announcing the 100-bolivar notes could be used until Jan. 2

Before that announcement riots and looting broke out in several cities and Maduro said Sunday more than 300 people had been detained, including several members of opposition parties.

He said the violence resulted from “a macabre” plan promoted by U.S. President Barack Obama to extract massive quantities of 100-bolivar notes from the country and stockpile them abroad.

He said it was meant to be “the final blow of Obama, a final blow to create chaos, violence, division.”

Most economists blame the country’s economic woes on price controls and falling prices for the country’s oil exports, as well as heavy government spending and production-crippling policies that gave Venezuelans lots of 100-bolivar notes but not enough to buy with them.

Maduro said he’d had to lift extend the life of the old currency notes because saboteurs had prevented the arrival of three airplanes carrying newly printed, larger-denomination bills from abroad. He didn’t give details about the plot.

Disturbances continued into Saturday evening in places such as Ciudad Bolívar, where officials banned motorcycles for 48 hours and restricted overnight car and pedestrian traffic. Bolivar state Gov. Francisco Rangel Gomez said 3,200 police were sent into the streets to ensure order and he said 262 people had been arrested in the state.

Rangel Gomez, a retired general, urged people to stay in their homes until the vandalism is quelled.

Eight hundred police and troops were sent to the town of El Callao, where Mayor Coromoto Lugo said a youth was killed, 25 businesses were looted and 40 people were injured in the disturbances.

In the southwestern town of La Fria, officials said city hall was burned during rioting on Saturday.</s>CARACAS -- With protests rocking his unpopular government, embattled President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday pushed back to next month taking Venezuela's highest denomination bill out of circulation.

Maduro, who spoke after a meeting with administration officials, said he also would keep the borders with Brazil and Colombia closed until January 2.

"We will break the embargo they are trying to impose on us, the persecution and the sabotage," Maduro pledged.

He promised a late December announcement about when the new bills would arrive, without indicating from where they would be flown.

The president, whose popularity has plummeted, says the 100-bolivar note had to be killed because "mafias" are hoarding it abroad in what he calls a US-backed plot to destabilize Venezuela.

The bill is worth about 15 US cents at the highest official rate, and until recently accounted for 77 percent of the cash in circulation in Venezuela.

Late Friday, Maduro blamed opposition politicians for the unrest, claiming that there were pictures and videos of some opposition members of the National Assembly involved in "attempts of vandalism and some acts of violence."

Maduro has presided over an unraveling of Venezuela's oil-rich economy as crude prices have plunged. He and predecessor Hugo Chavez have made the economy increasingly state-led.

Now the import-dependent country is desperately short of food, medicine and basic household goods.

Venezuela currently has the world's highest inflation rate, set to hit 475 percent this year, according to an IMF forecast.

The government is trying to introduce new bills in denominations up to 200 times higher than the old ones.

But the plan went off the rails when Maduro ordered the 100-bolivar note removed from circulation before the new bills arrived.

In a country with one of the highest rates of violent crime in the world, shoppers must carry round unwieldy wads of bills to pay for their purchases.

Retirees had complained for months that their pensions were paid in unmanageable 50- and 20-bolivar denominations.

Angry protests erupted around the country as the chaotic reform left people without money to buy food or Christmas presents.

In the southern state of Bolivar, a lawmaker and councilman said that four people died in rioting there. Authorities had not yet confirmed the deaths.

A recession driven by plunging prices for Venezuela's crucial crude oil exports has led to shortages of food and medicine.

Citizens face long queues to buy basic supplies and inflation has soared. Deadly riots and looting have broken out over recent months.

Analysts have warned there is a risk of unrest in Venezuela, which Human Rights Watch says is in the grips of a "humanitarian crisis." Anti-government protests in 2014 led to clashes that left 43 people dead.

Polls show that more than half of Venezuelans want the president to stand down.

But the elected leftist leader has vowed to hold onto power at least until his term ends in 2019.</s>People cook in the streets during a protest due to a lack of cash in El Pinal, Venezuela on December 16, 2016. In a way, President Nicolas Maduro did a Narendra Modi in his country demonetising the 100-bolivar bills, arguing that the measure was needed to combat mafias on the Colombia border despite warnings from some economists that it risked sparking chaos. Many people took out protests cursing Mr. Maduro for the move. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Protests and looting broke out in parts of Venezuela on Friday due to a lack of cash after the socialist government suddenly pulled the nation’s largest banknote from circulation in the midst of a brutal economic crisis.

An opposition legislator said there were three deaths amid violent scenes in the southern mining town of Callao — but there was no confirmation of that from the government.

Waving the now-worthless 100-bolivar bills, pockets of demonstrators blocked roads, demanded that stores accept the cash, and cursed President Nicolas Maduro in a string of towns and cities around Venezuela, witnesses said.

Dozens of shops were looted in various places.

Last weekend, Mr. Maduro gave Venezuelans three days to ditch the 100-bolivar bills, arguing that the measure was needed to combat mafias on the Colombia border despite warnings from some economists that it risked sparking chaos.

Opposition leaders said the move was further evidence he is destroying the OPEC nation’s economy and must be removed.

Authorities have thwarted a referendum sought by the opposition against the leftist leader. That might enable him to complete a six-year term ending in early 2019, but increases the prospect of social unrest.

With new bills — originally due on Thursday — still nowhere to be seen, many Venezuelans were unable to fill their vehicles’ fuel tanks to get to work, buy food or purchase Christmas gifts.

Adding to the chaos, many cash machines were broken or empty. And large lines formed outside the central bank offices in Caracas and Maracaibo where the 100-bolivar bills could still be handed over and deposited for a few days more.

“This is a mockery,” said bus driver Richard Montilva as he and several hundred others blocked a street outside a bank in the town of El Pinal in Tachira state near Colombia.

First Justice lawmaker Angel Medina said large numbers of shops had been ransacked, destroyed and burned in El Callao, with three people killed and many injured.

Reuters could not independently confirm his statements.

Speaking in general terms, Mr. Maduro condemned the violence around the country, and said two banks had been attacked by people linked to the opposition coalition. He said the new bills would come into circulation soon, appealed for the population’s “comprehension,” and urged Venezuelans to use electronic transactions where possible.

40 p.c. of them have no bank a/cs

About 40 per cent of Venezuelans do not have bank accounts.

Outside the central bank in Caracas, thousands of Venezuelans lined up to swap the 100-bolivar bills before a final Tuesday deadline as National Guard soldiers kept watch.

An orange and avocado vendor offered to buy the notes up for 80 bolivars each.

Mr. Maduro’s measure has stoked anger among Venezuelans already weary of long lines for food and medicine amid product shortages and triple-digit inflation. He blamed the crisis on an “economic war” waged against his government to weaken the bolivar currency and unseat him.

Critics scoff at that explanation, pointing instead to state controls and excessive money printing.

“I want a change in government. I don’t care about changing the bills; they’re not worth anything anyway,” said Isabel Gonzalez (62), standing in line at the central bank on Friday.

She said she had just enough cash to get a bus home.</s>Security forces have arrested more than 300 people during protests and lootings over the elimination of Venezuela’s largest currency bill, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday.

The socialist leader pulled the 100 bolivar note this week before new bills were in circulation, creating a national cash shortage on top of the brutal economic crisis overshadowing Venezuelans’ Christmas and New Year holidays.

After two days of unrest over the measure – including one death and dozens of shops ransacked – Mr. Maduro on Saturday postponed the measure until Jan. 2.

That helped stem violence, though there were still reports of more lootings in southern Ciudad Bolivar on Sunday.

The detainees include leaders and members of the opposition Popular Will and Justice First parties, Mr. Maduro said on state TV, accusing them of following U.S. instructions to incite chaos.

“Don’t come and tell me they are political prisoners … They are the two parties of the ‘gringos’ in Venezuela,” he added, accusing U.S. President Barack Obama of wanting to engineer a coup against socialism in Venezuela before leaving office.

From Venezuela’s southern jungle and savannah to the Andean highlands in the west, groups of hundreds of protesters have been burning bolivar notes, cursing Maduro and decrying scarcities of food and medicines.

The worst looting was on Friday and Saturday, especially in El Callao and Ciudad Bolivar in the southern state of Bolivar, and police have used teargas to control crowds in some places.

Chinese-run shops have been particularly targeted, witnesses say, and a 14-year-old boy was shot dead in El Callao on Friday.

The governor of Bolivar state said there were 262 arrests there, with lootings from food shops to science laboratories. The local business group said 350 businesses had been ransacked in Ciudad Bolivar, including 90 per cent of food outlets.

In Santa Elena de Uairen, near the border with Brazil, shopkeepers and inhabitants formed vigilante groups to join police and soldiers after six shops were ransacked on Saturday.

“We’re not lowering our guard, we’re forming protection brigades,” said local business group leader Gilmer Poma.

Food prices were reduced in some establishments in Santa Elena as a way to defuse tensions.

Mr. Maduro, a 54-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister who replaced Hugo Chavez in 2013, has seen his popularity plunge during a three-year recession. He justified the currency measure as a way of suffocating mafia on Venezuela’s borders.

But opponents say it is further evidence of disastrous economic policy in a nation reeling from runaway prices and shortages of basics. They want him to resign.

“The only person guilty of the chaos and violence of recent days is Nicolas Maduro,” the Justice First party said, accusing intelligence agents of taking advantage of the situation to frame opposition leaders with false evidence.

With the 100 bolivar bill originally out of circulation from Friday, many Venezuelans had found themselves unable to purchase food or fill up cars in the busy run-up to Christmas.

“As if we don’t have enough to cope with anyway, now they inflict this craziness on us,” said a grandmother in Caracas, Zoraida Gutierrez, 74, who spent a day lining up under the sun to deposit cash she had under her bed.
The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro suspends plans to eliminate the 100 bolívar note from circulation, in a country where much of the population lives on cash, without bank accounts.