CARACAS: The Colombian border city of Cucuta has long been overflowing with goods smuggled from Venezuela, but that could be about to change.
Venezuela’s closure of its border with Colombia is already hitting the profits of the smuggling industry, according to street vendors.
In the Colombian border city of Cucuta, a street vendor identified as Freddy said almost all the products he sells come from Venezuela.
“We have been very affected by the border closure … our sales have dropped by 80 percent.’’
Freddy’s stall was packed with cosmetic and hygiene products including shampoo and toothpaste. Many of these products have been scarce in Venezuela for months. Smugglers typically purchase consumer goods cheap in Venezuela, and sell them across the border in Cucuta at inflated prices.
Other stalls nearby sold products including powdered milk, diapers and sanitary pads. All of these products are scarce in Venezuela, but easily available in Cucuta.
Freddy said he understood smuggling has affected Venezuelans, but said he has little choice but to make a living off hawking contraband.
“The reality is that here in Cucuta there aren’t any manufacturing industries, we are business people, each person with a stall,” he said.
He continued, “As I said, Cucuta is one of the main cities of Colombia that’s facing a very critical situation.”
That situation might only worsen, as street vendors like Freddy and the smugglers that supply him run low on wares. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has vowed to beef up border security in a crackdown on smugglers and paramilitaries. The crackdown includes a state of exception in border regions, and a heavy military presence in paramilitary hotspots on the Venezuelan side of the border.
Maduro has urged the Colombian government to likewise increase security on its side of the border, and bilateral talks were underway at the time of writing.
Natalia Margarita explained that not everyone facing tough times in Cucuta is resorting to profiting off the smuggling industry.
“Because of the lack of opportunities, employment, and proper social progress, many Colombian’s move to Venezuela to benefit from social programs,” Margarita said.
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