As a result of the operations carried out by the Superintendence of Tax Administration to stop smuggling, in recent days there have been two attacks on the customs area of Tecún Umán I, on the border between Guatemala and Mexico.
According to information provided by the Guatemalan authorities, on November 13 and 17, groups of alleged smugglers attacked the customs of Tecún Umán I in San Marcos, because in the operations deployed by the tax authority, merchandise was seized that was not declared upon entry into the country.
In Guatemala, food and beverage businessmen estimate that product smuggling during the end of 2018 will increase more than reported in previous years.
Complaints by Guatemalan businessmen regarding the illicit marketing of different types of products have been a constant in recent years. Long-standing calculations detail that of every ten products sold in the country, three are of illegal origin.
It has been reported that six out of ten bottles of liquor consumed in Costa Rica are of illegal origin, and this situation has been attributed to the heavy tax on alcoholic beverages in the country.
An investigation published by Crhoy.com details the figures on the market of illegal alcoholic beverages in Costa Rica.The document concludes that between 2014 and 2017 the value of the illicit liquor market has grown almost 50%.
In Panama, a bill proposes reinforcing coercive measures for customs offenses with penalties ranging from $250, to a fine equivalent to the value of the unpaid taxes.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance explained that the bill proposes "to facilitate greater collection, in any of the instances that sanction the crimes of customs fraud and contraband."
In Costa Rica a considerable increase has been reported in the illegal transfer of agricultural products such as avocados, which have been banned from Mexico for almost three years.
Crhoy.com reports that "... 'The Fiscal Control Police (PCF) reported a change in the trend of items confiscated in the first quarter of 2018. This is because they have detected significant shipments related to products such as avocados and garlic."
In the view of businessmen in Guatemala, the country has become a connection center for merchandise that is transported illegally from the Colon Free Zone, in Panama, to the Corozal Free Zone, in Belize.
Within the to and fro of contraband products moving from the south of Central America on the route to Mexico, a significant amount stays in Guatemala, where criminal structures are responsible for "marketing" these products throughout the territory.
It is estimated that 4 out of 10 products that are sold in the local market are of illegal origin, mostly medicines, liquors, soft drinks, beers and cigarettes.
The union of Honduran businessmen estimates the country's losses caused by contraband goods at $127 million, a phenomenon which occurs to a greater extent in products for human consumption, such as medicines and beverages.
Guatemalan businessmen are demanding stricter laws to combat the illegal entry of goods from Mexico, which are now being sold in El Salvador and Honduras.
Food and beverage companies say that in the municipality of Acajutla, El Salvador, it is possible to buy oil, flour and crackers that were illegally smuggled in from Mexico, first passing through Guatemalan territory, and eventually being sold on Salvadoran soil.
The aquaculture sector has estimated losses due to theft of the product, which is repackaged in clandestine facilities and then sold in the local market and in El Salvador, at $35 million a year.
Honduran aquaculture companies had hoped that waybills, or shipment details documents, which came into effect with the new 2014 Shrimp Farming Act would help control illegal trade of shrimp, but sofar it has not. The National Aquaculture Association of Honduras (Andah) estimates that every year the industry loses 16 million pounds of shrimp.
It is estimated that in 2015 illicit trade and customs fraud added up to $2.2 billion, equivalent to 3.5% of GDP.
Cereals, animals, meat and meat products, bakery products, sugar, macaroni and noodles, dairy, alcoholic beverages and textiles topped the list of products most affected by illegal trade, according to a study by ASIES.
Through at least 47 clandestine posts on the border between the two countries there is illegal circulation of tomatoes, yams, avocados, plantains and bananas.
Eduardo Carles, Minister of Agricultural Development in Panama, told Prensa.com that, in the case of bananas and plantains,"... producers sell them in Costa Rica when the price falls in the local market ....
The devaluation of the Mexican peso could be one of the reasons behind the increase in the illegal entry of footwear from that country into Guatemala.
The effect of shoe smuggling across the border with Mexico is added to footwear imports from Asia, which despite paying the corresponding duties and taxes are,"...
As expected after any government intervention in a market, the price consumers pay for the product has increased and a black market has been created, encouraging smuggling.
And the Costa Rican State itself risks having to pay millions in compensation for convictions for failing to comply with the procedures established by the WTO after blocking imports of avocados from Mexico.
Agricultural production in Mexico is favored by the devaluation of the peso, which has encouraged smuggling to Guatemala of pork products, coffee, poultry and eggs.
The union of entrepreneurs in the agricultural and livestock sector is claiming that it is now not only pork which is being traded illegally on the border, but other products such as coffee, eggs and poultry.