Colombians Jailed in Venezuela for $15 Grocery Run

[Bacchus4.0]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/colombians-jailed-venezuela-15-grocery-run-26606991


A $15 grocery run has cost two single mothers from Colombia 48 days in jail, along with the threat of a 14-year prison sentence, as a result of a crackdown on smuggling in Venezuela that is ratcheting up tensions and highlighting growing economic distortions between the neighbors.

Jenifer Rojas and Belsy Alvarez were arrested in early September by Venezuela's national guard walking out of a supermarket in the western city of San Cristobal with bags of rice, pasta, mayonnaise and other staples whose prices are capped in Venezuela and whose sale is restricted to the country's residents.

Along with the cashier who rang up their purchases, they face charges of smuggling and violating the socialist government's new law of fair prices, whose penalties include 10 to 14 years in jail.

The Colombian women were let out on parole late Friday while they await trial and must now appear in court every 15 days as a condition of their release.

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While Maduro insists he is not targeting Colombians, his decision to close the border at night and boost security patrols has generated alarm. The mayor of Cucuta, a Colombian commercial city of 800,000 people where Venezuelans go to see how much their bolivars are really worth, urged residents this week to avoid stepping across the border, saying they face arrest.