Hopping From Venezuela To Colombia To Evade Currency Controls

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/08/320077418/hopping-from-venezuela-to-colombia-to-evade-currency-controls

Venezuelans in need of U.S. dollars are restricted by government controls in the amount they can purchase legally. So many head across the border to Colombia. Hundreds of money-changers are at work in the border town of Cucuta, which also sets the exchange rate for the black market in Venezuela.

Copyright © 2014 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
ARUN RATH, HOST:
From the studios of NPR West, in Culver City, California, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Arun Rath. It's hard to find U.S. dollars in Venezuela, thanks to strict currency controls. That might not sound like a big deal, but it means huge headaches for Venezuelan businesses who need dollars to import goods. For some Venezuelans, the best option is to cross the border to the Colombian city of Cucuta, where greenbacks are plentiful. In fact, that city's money traders are so important, they help set black-market money exchange rates in Venezuela. Reporter, John Otis, has the story.


--------------------
OTIS: Valbuena runs a crop-dusting business in the Venezuelan city of Merida. He needs dollars to import spare parts from the U.S. and Canada to keep his spray planes in the air.

OTIS: But he says, buying dollars from the Venezuelan government, which is the only legal way to obtain them, takes months and that his requests are nearly always denied. Valbuena could change on the black market, but he sometimes needs $25,000 or more, sums that are not always available on the street on short notice. It's also risky. Changing on the black market carries a six-year jail sentence. So once a month, Valbuena makes the four-hour drive, from Merida to Cucuta, where he can legally purchase dollars.

OTIS: It's fast and easy, he says. People here are friendly, and you can get the dollars you need.

--
ROZO: Rather than blaming Cucuta's money traders, Venezuelans seem grateful for their services. Take Cecelia Lozasa, who has crossed the border to change about $300. Her money changer gives her a slightly better rate than she could get on the Venezuelan black market, for accepting low denomination bills, which take up a lot of space. That means Lozasa must travel back to Venezuela with five plastic bags jammed with 20,000 bolivars. But she's thrilled to have the extra cash. For NPR News, I'm John Otis.