Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Smuggling Has Become A Way Of Life For Many In Venezuela

Venezuela's local currency lies on a currency trader's table in the border town of Maicao, Colombia August 18, 2015. REUTERS/Girish Gupta

Reuters: Smuggling soars as Venezuela's economy sinks

Clutching egg cartons on his shoulder, a young man wades precariously through a muddy river on Venezuela's western jungle border where a Colombian shopkeeper will happily buy them up.

On a peninsula jutting into the Caribbean, a fisherman sails under the cover of darkness to the nearby island of Aruba carrying everything from fish to flour.

In neighboring Guyana, miners and police officers drive vehicles fueled by contraband gasoline from Venezuela.

Driven by a deepening economic crisis, smuggling across Venezuela's land and maritime borders - as well as illicit domestic trading - has accelerated to unprecedented levels and is transforming society.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This reminds me of the Soviet Union. Growing up we were all exposed to how people  took goods that were destined to the subsidized stores and outlets and sold them on the black market. Venezuela is just another case on what happens when a government decides that they are the ones who know best on how to set prices and what is to be supplied .... in the end human nature takes over and the entire system collapses.

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