The Fall of Sri Lanka’s Most Powerful Family

On Wednesday morning, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. This came after months of protesters filling the streets with chants and tents, ending in a storming of the Presidential residence over the weekend. The protests are a direct result of the economic crisis that Sri Lanka has been experiencing — but who are the Rajapaksas, and why are they being blamed for this crisis? VICE News’ Pallavi Pundir takes us through what led to this moment.

This episode was produced by Adriana Tapia.

VICE News Reports is hosted by Arielle Duhaime-Ross and produced by Sophie Kazis, Jen Kinney, and Adriana Tapia. Our senior producer is Sam Greenspan. Our supervising producers are Ashley Cleek and Stephanie Kariuki. Our associate producers are Steph Brown, Sam Eagan, and Adreanna Rodriguez. Sound design and music composition by Steve Bone, Pran Bandi, and Kyle Murdock. Mixing by Evan Sutton.

Our executive producer is Adizah Eghan. And the VP of Vice Audio is Kate Osborn. Janet Lee is Senior Production Manager for VICE Audio. Fact Checking by Nicole Pasulka. Our theme music is by Steve Bone.