José Enrique Aguilera, President of the Association of Ranchers of the José Antonio Páez Municipality in Apure State (Asocría), denounced that on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, some 6,000 producers are forced to buy fuel on the black market for more than a dollar per liter due to the distribution failures suffered by the service stations of this border area.
María Eugenia Díaz // Correspondent lapatilla.com
Aguilera revealed that the Alto Apure ranchers buy their diesel in Colombia to be able to operate farm machinery that allows the production of food.
“In Guasdualito, they sell diesel only to bus drivers and to whoever those in charge consider it necessary, despite the fact that we have submitted requests to PDVSA in Guasdualito,” said the union member.
For three years, the farmers of Páez have not received permits to resupply fuel. However, the farm workers remain proud, subsist and work.
“Unfortunately, the rulers do not put themselves in our place. When they eat a plate of meat, they cannot imagine the sacrifice that producers make so that it reaches the table of Venezuelans. However, we continue working and betting on our country. Hopefully one day they will see the countryside, because the countryside is the future of this country. Now the oil rent is over, because in Guasdualito there were some oil wells that before produced around 100,000 barrels a day, today they barely if at all 5,000. Oil income fell by 90%,” added Aguilera.