A coastal Venezuelan city long dependent on smuggling of drugs and other contraband is facing economic collapse and government surveillance following U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats.
Residents in Güiria, a port city with a population of around 40,000, say U.S bombings have cut off illicit boat traffic that supported much of its local economy, including drug shipments and trade of contraband, food, and consumer goods with nearby states, Reuters reported Friday. With vessels no longer leaving the coast, Güiria’s shop owners report almost no cash moving through the city.
“There was only movement in stores recently because of government bonus payments; otherwise, there’s no money circulating,” said one local merchant, according to Reuters.
“No boats of any kind are leaving … not migrants, not people buying goods there to sell here, and certainly not those taking Venezuelan products to sell there, which was another way to make money. Everything is practically dead,” the merchant added.
Families of several men from Güiria believed to have been killed in the strikes say police and intelligence agents for Venezuela’s socialist government — seen as illegitimate by the U.S. and much of the world — visited them shortly afterward, according to Reuters. The relatives, who asked to remain anonymous for their safety, said officers searched their homes and warned them not to speak publicly. They say they have received no official information about the deaths and have not recovered any bodies.
Since mid-September, security forces have expanded their presence across Güiria. Locals report frequent patrols by personnel from the Venezuelan regime’s Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Reuters reported. One former resident described a DGCIM “command center” in a state-owned hotel in a nearby resort town, and a resulting drop in public activity due to the presence of government personnel.
Wow, a city depend on criminal activity to survive. Amazing isn’t it? Do we want that in our country? If your answer is yes, vote democrat.
That’s a shame.
I’ve been to Guira, several times. The first thing you notice is all the plywood and cardboard shacks on every hillside, and that they have no basic sanitation. The lower parts of the hills and all of the valleys are a crappy gray color. Then you realize why; it really is crap, running down the hillside in rivers and rivers of pure s**t.