Live
Audio Only
Since Venezuelan authorities began a crackdown on smuggling at the Colombia border, scarce goods have flooded back to supermarket shelves, according to teleSUR correspondent Madelein Garcia, who spoke with residents in Tachira state.
“Products have begun to appear on the border,” Garcia said. She quoted one shopper as stating, “I got toilet paper, and at BsF28(US$4); it's a miracle.”
Newsletter
Los productos comenzaron aparecer en la frontera "conseguí papel sanitario y a 28 Bf esto es un milagro" pic.twitter.com/NlQwmi1nAa
— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR)
August 24, 2015
“Products have begun to appear on the border, ‘I got toilet paper and at Bs28; it’s a miracle.’”
President Nicolas Maduro declared a state of exception – similar to a state of emergency except civil rights are mainatained – in five municipalities of Tachira state Friday to crack down on smuggling and other cross-border crime, including the movement of paramilitary groups.
More than 2,000 soldiers have been deployed to carry out anti-smuggling operations.
RELATED: 2,000 Soldiers Deployed to Venezuelan Border to Maintain State of Exception
Meanwhile, a government survey Tuesday said the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans living near the border with Colombia approve of the government's crackdown on smuggling, with many stating it had brought basic goods back to supermarket shelves.
Almost 80 percent of Venezuelans in areas subject to special anti-smuggling measures approve of the government's actions, according to an official poll conducted by authorities.
Only 13 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of the measures, while just under 7 percent either didn't respond or had no opinion. Around 66 percent said they would like to see the anti-smuggling operations continue, while 23 percent said they were unsure, and 11 percent opposed.
The government has stated the poll shows its anti-smuggling operations are widely popular, in a region that has long faced shortages of some basic products. Cheap Venezuelan consumer goods are often sold across the border in Colombia at inflated prices.
Tachira Governor Jose Vielma Mora, who is in charge of implementing the state of exception, said each month 27,000 tons of food arrive in area, “enough to supply 1.5 million Tachira residents, but the vast majority goes as contraband to Colombia, and that’s why there’s scarcity and long lines (for food).”
Vielma said that the situation will be controlled, and the state of exception will facilitate a census of businesses, the population, schools, and other relevant sectors in the five municipalities.
He clarified that the state of exception didn’t mean the suspension of any rights.
“Just the opposite, we are returning people’s rights to them after they were taken by an incursion of Colombian paramilitary violence in Venezuela,” he said.
