Venezuela’s Bleeding Border

On Monday the Venezuelan government began nightly closures of its 1,370-mile border with Colombia:

Venezuela loses an estimated 14% of its gasoline production in contraband sales, mainly to Colombia, but also to Brazil, sources in state-owned PDVSA have told The Times. There is also a thriving black market for smuggled Venezuelan food items including rice, chicken, cooking oil and beans. … Gasoline costs less than a penny a gallon at unofficial exchange rates, creating a huge profit potential for those who can ship it to Colombia, where gas costs upward of $5 per gallon.