After the protests that have been registered for almost a week at the borders of Maicao and Cúcuta (Colombia) by a group of Colombian carriers who ask that heavy-load Venezuelan vehicles be allowed to circulate freely throughout this nation’s territory, representatives of the union of transport of Venezuela request the Colombian authorities to continue complying with the binational agreements regulating cargo transport in view of the threats and incidents that have occurred in the last few hours.
Luz Dary Depablos // Correspondent lapatilla.com
Representatives of these unions in Venezuela established their position and asked for “equal conditions to work”, since in the more than seven years that they were paralyzed by the border closure, they did not have the income to renew their vehicle fleet. Although a few managed to buy new vehicles, most still have trucks and trailers that are over 15 and even 20 years old.
During the years when the border was closed, a large part of the Venezuelan fleet was bought at low prices by Colombian carriers, who were able to cross them over through Paraguachón into Colombian territory, where these unit circulated in recent years under a measure of flexibility after the closure of the International bridges between Táchira State (Venezuela) and Norte de Santander Department (Colombia).
However, on December 31st, 2022, authorities from both countries signed the “Operational Plan for the Gradual Reactivation of International Cargo and Passenger Transport by land between Venezuela and Colombia”, which establishes the conditions for the passage of heavy-duty vehicles for both nations.
According to this Operational Plan in its item number 12 it is stated: “The cargo must be unloaded and/or transshipped to the warehouses and/or authorized depots that are located within a range not exceeding twenty (20) kilometers counted from the border.”
In other words, Venezuelan transport may not circulate more than 20 kilometers from the border line, and the same applies to Colombian transport in Venezuela, which is why the Colombian authorities have begun to restrict the transit of these units, which has led to that group of Colombian drivers with a Venezuelan truck fleet to protest in recent days.
Tarek Bahsas, President of the Central Transportation Chamber (Catracentro), said he did not feel “on an equal footing to compete at the border.” He also said that: “Paraguachón was one of the areas that was permanently active when the border was closed and they stood up for the country. However, we have to evolve.”
In his opinion, with the gradual reopening, priority should be given to the majority of Venezuelan carriers who were out of work for more than seven years.
“The fight really has to be done at work tables between authorities from both countries. I have been with the Venezuelan authorities since before the reopening, we reached a consensus to pass up to a range of 20 kilometers from the border area, not to allow cabotage in Colombia or Venezuela. It is not about nationality, it is about the conditions and the time we require. We are at a disadvantage (with Colombia),” he pointed out.
Likewise, he noted that they seek to increase the load. “Once we are on equal terms, the same of our Colombian and Brazilian brothers, times will change and we will have to sit down and change.”
No financing
He pointed out that the infrastructure of Paraguachón “is not the most suitable for transshipment, it is very precarious, it only has one forklift”, and that is why he hopes both countries will be able to consolidate a working infrastructure on both sides of the border.
“Our position is that we feel at a disadvantage. Currently, the vast majority of Venezuelan transport, due to the condition of our units, cargo capacity, financing and cash flow, because bank financing must be remembered, is very difficult,” said the President of Catracentro.
“If I could get to Cali, to Bogotá, a lot of money is required, and if I ask my fellow transporters, the vast majority do not have the money or the investment capacity to go to the other side. But if I ask the Colombian or Brazilian brothers if they really have the money or bank financing, surely they do,” he emphasized.
On the other hand, Albaro Rodríguez Paz, President of the Chamber of Social Transport of Táchira State, pointed out that “there is ignorance of the authorities on the Colombian side, who request the Venezuelan carriers the Andean (insurance) Policy, despite the fact that in the agreement signed few months as part of the gradual reopening of this border, it is mentioned that only a single policy is required.
He explained that the International Andean Policy is the one that establishes the international transport norm when we belonged to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), for which Colombian authorities considers that they (Venezuelan drivers) must pay the International Civil Liability Policy.
Each policy has an approximate cost of 600 dollars. If both cover the same thing, he points out that it does not make sense to pay double, so they hope that the authorities of the sister country will correct this misunderstanding which will cause delays and loss of money for Venezuelan carriers.
He also mentioned that the validity of the Certificate of Suitability is the one that accredits them as international transport, it is granted by the Ministry of Transport for one year and it is not being complied with.
“I give as an example a transport that was given a certificate in the month of October with validity throughout 2023 and in Colombia it is only valid until July 2023. This brings us as carriers a delay, a carriage of certain costs which makes us more expensive, and this is one of the reasons why there are not enough authorized cars in Venezuela, because this is an onerous fee. Each vehicle pays 3.32 “petros”, which is about 200 dollars, which is onerous. A tractor-trailer pays $400. If an authorization is obtained now, the expiration is in July 2023. That is, this is not a 12 month authorization.”
Therefore, he urged the Colombian carriers who have been in protest in recent days to “cease the harassment.” He asks that they be allowed to stabilize in order to compete progressively.
He expressed that the greatest difficulty that Venezuelan carriers have faced has been the qualification of their vehicles and the handling of the cargo, for which they are willing to work progressively.
A fleet of old units
While on the Colombian side they have updated a large part of their fleet in recent years, “in Venezuela there are coal loading units that weigh 23 tons that can only load between 28 and 30 tons, and in Colombia they have more modern units that can weigh about 14 tons. This allows them to load up to 40 tons, that is, we could not compete in the event that Colombian transport entered Venezuelan territory.”
He recalled that in the brother country there is a policy of “scrapping”. Those vehicles that have reached their useful life are disincorporated from the vehicle fleet and transporters receive financing to update their fleet, a situation that does not occur in Venezuela, to this you must add the almost seven years of paralysis due to the closure of binational crossings.
It should be noted that Leonardo Méndez, regional director of the Colombian Federation of Cargo Transporters and their Logistics (Colfecar), rejects the protests that have developed in recent days.
He assures that: “the reopening of the border is part of the San Antonio Agreement”, which is why Colombian unions maintain their position in supporting the signed agreements between authorities and representatives of both countries so that the binational exchange continues to increase.
Members of unions that participate in commercial exchange on both sides of the border hope that with the approval by the Colombian Senate of the third discussion of the International Cargo and Passenger Transport Agreement by Land and the protests that affect the normal development will cease, so operations in customs areas, where the Colombian National Police has had to provide security for Venezuelan transport to avoid incidents such as those that occurred in the city of Cúcuta when a unit was attacked and its tires slashed.