A contraband smuggler throws a rope to his workmate on the shore of the river Tachira on the Colombia-Venezuela border, 3 May 2006. Venezuelan gasoline, being 20 times cheaper than in Colombia, is the most wanted smuggling item, followed by food and car parts, while reputable Colombian clothing flow to Venezuela. There are about 25,000 barrels of gasoline crossing illegally the Venezuelan border every day. The risky contraband smuggling, especially during the rainy season when the river rises, makes a living to hundreds of poor families in communities on both sides of the frontier.
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