After four years of closure, Venezuela and Aruba officially opened their maritime borders on Monday, June 5, with the arrival of the first two boats loaded with fruits and vegetables.
The boats that arrived were “El Maracucho” and “La Gaviota” that set sail from the port of Guaranao, in Falcón, on a trip of approximately eight hours to the island, as reported by Crónicas del Caribe on its website.
The first ship arrived at the port of Barcadera on Monday morning with 30 tons of mixed dry goods. The second boat arrived a few hours later with 50 tons of fruits and vegetables.
A group of people with flags and singing the Venezuelan anthem gathered at the pier to welcome the boats and their crews.
Everyone expressed their gratitude to the presidents of both countries and to the governor of the Falcón state, Víctor Clark, for the effort to achieve commercial reactivation between Aruba and Venezuela.
The captain of the ship “El Maracucho”, Yovani Rangel, affirmed that the attention of the Aruban authorities after arriving in Barcadera was very good.
He also indicated that they will carry out weekly imports of Venezuelan merchandise with solidarity prices. “So that everyone has the opportunity to buy the cheapest fruits and vegetables,” he said.
“Two brother towns meet again and this brings benefits for everyone… It brings employment, production, improved trade and improves life for the two towns,” said Remigio Díaz, crew member of “El Maracucho.”
The island’s prime minister, Evelyn Wever-Croes, hopes that the reactivation of trade will help mitigate inflation, while they study lifting restrictions on flights.