Isabel Castillo, President of the San Antonio del Táchira Chamber of Commerce said, regarding the statements made by Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro about the contraband that continues to flow through the “trochas” (illegal trails), that if the safe and legal border is really going to be opened, all imports and exports must pass through authorized international bridges.
Anggy Polanco // Correspondent lapatilla.com
Ms. Castillo said that it is only proper that contraband goods stop circulating through the illegal trails, because otherwise this is not a legal opening of border crossings.
“So far, the transactions that have taken place are in the order of 2.5 million dollars,” said the President of the Chamber of Commerce.
She stressed that the aspiration is that transactions soon reach 1,000 million dollars, given that more than 170 trucks pass weekly through Paraguachón (in Zulia State).
“And here this could easily happen, but everyone need to get used to cross through the authorized crossings and those that are not must be completely closed,” she exhorted.
In addition, she stated that it is important that all those permits that are required to import are affordable, so that any importer or exporter can process and carry out their transactions.
This Thursday, the President of Colombia said from Cúcuta that they want to open the border: “not that the trucks go through the illegal trails and pay the “chili” (ají, protection money) to the state forces on both sides, smuggling, if what we want is that trade go over the bridge.”
“The open border could be a possibility of prosperity, but after a month, only 2 and a half million products have crossed over from there to here and here to there, and where is the rest of the products passing through? We opened the bridge, we took the blow, we ran the political cost and the economy continues to go down the road,” said the Colombian President.
He pointed out that uniformed officials from Venezuela and Colombia are charging protection money, and that’s why he ordered the trade minister, Germán Umaña, that “these trails be closed because they must be closed.”
Isabel Castillo explained that they hope that what Gustavo Petro said is taken as an order.
It is important to remember that in mid-March 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, large shipments of products of all kinds began to flow through the informal trails that link Táchira State with Norte de Santander Department, the most famous one being through the Ponderosa, authorized by the “code” of the protectorate of the Táchira State, these merchandise made it through to the center of Venezuela (500 miles away).