After the crossing authorization of private vehicles and Venezuelan and Colombian taxis through the “Atanasio Girardot” international bridge, several Colombian taxi drivers have denounced through their union the alleged irregularities that they have suffered in the border municipalities of Táchira when they have crossed the border to provide theirs services to clients.
By La Patilla
Jan 04, 2023
This Wednesday morning, a Colombian taxi driver denounced that when passing through the new bridge a military officer allegedly charged him 10 thousand pesos (More than 2 dollars) to allow him to cross over into Venezuela.
“I feel very upset, I grabed a ride on the “Anillo Vial” (Cúcuta, Colombia), I take it to the town of Tienditas (Ureña, Venezuela), I go past the Venezuelan guard, they racket my car until they cannot any more and after all I do not carry anything, I only had a ride and the Venezuelan guard took 10,000 pesos from me,” said the taxi driver of the “La Mancha Amarilla” line (Yellow Spot line) in Cúcuta.
He went over and denounced to his union, “I told him, Mr. Agent, don’t do this, I’m bringing a ride for 15 thousand pesos, don’t be that unfair either and he answered, leave something para los frescos” (for sodas) or else stop aside there, what would you have?” It’s up to one to be intimidated by those Venezuelan guards, because they want to do whatever they want with the Colombian public service and the white cars (Venezuelan taxis) here in Colombia aren’t bothered at all.”
Likewise, Carlos Bastos, representative of the taxi drivers union in Cúcuta, reported that, according to an agreement between the authorities of both countries, as of today Venezuelan taxis will be able to enter Colombia with rides and return back empty and Colombian taxi drivers must do the same. They will be able to drive a ride into Venezuela and return empty, “so that there is a balance,” he said.
He stated that this measure was implemented after it became evident in Cúcuta in recent days that apparently Venezuelan taxi drivers “were taking rides here in Cúcuta, offering the service to go back to San Cristóbal (Venezuela), ending our union.”
He furthermore emphasized that there are more than eight thousand eight hundred taxis that provide service in the city of Cúcuta to all citizens, for this reason he demands that the new measure to not carry passengers from places they are not allowed to be enforced and in turn, that officials in Venezuela provide due security to Colombians who cross the border and do not irregularly charge them with “fees”.
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