MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cúcuta, the solution to many Venezuelans

More than 550,000 Venezuelans have arrived in the last year to live in Colombia by Cúcuta

When it comes to getting medical treatments, temporary work, migration for a short time, buying food or making more money, Cúcuta has been the better option, if not the perfect one, it is the most practical, for many Venezuelans.

 Cúcuta is the closest Colombian city to the border with San Antonio del Táchira, by which more than 550,000 Venezuelans have arrived in the last year to live in Colombia or, failing that, the city in which they can do various business or get the more basic things to take to Venezuela.

There are different things that people do there, some people trade or change from bolivars to Colombian pesos, then pesos to dollars and then to bolivars to have profit. Some professionals go once or twice a month to practice their profession -doctors make medical consultations or surgeries- managers help preparing taxes for companies and various professions do everything they can, all at a lower cost than Colombian personnel, but then taking more money to Venezuela because bolivares are too devaluated.

There are many others who look there for food and medicines for their home, others bring them to Venezuela to sell them. Certainly, business and borders always favor the inhabitants by some factor. For example, there are those who live in Germany, with lower cost of living and less taxes and work in Denmark to have a better income.

Others make their transactions in foreign currency in Cúcuta, given that in Venezuela the exchange houses are banned and, given the exodus of Venezuelans, many others receive remittances sent by relatives from abroad to make their purchases right there or bring that money to Venezuela. In one way or another, Cúcuta ends up being the solution to the problems of many Venezuelans, although it has a high economic cost in many cases.