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How safe is Venezuela NOW?
Hello,
After lmost 7months riding around South America from Colombia to Ushuaia, following mainly the west coast, I am now in Buenos Aires. My plan is to follow the Atlantic coast (Uruguay and Brazil) and take a ship in Belem to Manaus. I intend to cross into Venezuela via Manaus - Santa Elena de Uairen, and then reach the north coast in Colombia crossing Venezuela. My main concern is safety in Venezuela... Many people are saying it may not be safe to cross Venezuela due to social/political as well as some safety issues, but can´t find reliable and updated info... Any advice? Thank you in advance! |
I just came through, southbound on that route. I didn't feel especially threatened anywhere. The police helped me out several times. A major portion of the population has been taught for 14 years that all things gringo are bad. Dont expect a welcome parade but nobody turned that ill will into anything but indifference and poor service. By far the greatest problem is money. ATMs, liscenced Money changers and individuals are forbidden to trade Bolivars for dollars or accept them in payment. That said, some banks might be able to exchange at about 1/5 of the market value. You can use credit cards at some hotels, fancy restaurants and travel agencies. Albeit at the horrible bank rate 5/1. Basically plastic is almost useless.
Coming from Colombia you can trade dollars in Cucuta for great rates 22/1. Cucuta is the only place on earth that will buy or sell Bolivars for US $ s. Coming fom Brazil you will have to really hide your US $ s. Over $1000 and it gets confiscated, like forever. Bring Brasilian Reais, you can change them in front of a downtown shop In Santa Elena called Cuatro Esquinas legally. Not scary or dangerous at all but you wont get the super-duper rates that the US$ can get in Cucuta. To trade US $s you will need to make a personal contact. Business people and the upper class love collecting dollars but you should be discrete. Offering to change bucks with a party official might not work out. Je je Santa Elena is a great place from which to explore the Gran Sabana. Although Venezuelanos might be snarky, the indígenas are quite friendly. Plan a week Guayana department and the Gran Sábana. Mérida, supposedly the nicest town in Vzla had rubbish 2 feet deep on the streets, the tramway is shutdown and traffic is at a standstill. The nightlife was excellent however. I know nothing of the beaches or islands. Prices: beer 90cents US (wimpy), hotel 2** $20, gasoline usually free for motos but could be as high as 3 cents a gallon, Iphone $3000 US. Very few in Vzla has respect for the law. IF you stop at a yellow light you'll probably get killed. If you stop at a red they'll blow their horn until you run the light (which you should not do).The lawlessnes gets MUCH worse after dark. In other words don't cut it close on arrival times. From NE Brazil GOOD LUCK! |
Just keep away from parliamentary proceedings and you should be fine!
Clashes break out in Venezuela parliament BTW if you do go to Venezuela try and get to Merida. Great little city and surrounds in the mountains. Very friendly city with great bars and clubs and lots of beautiful women :smiliex: |
Did you read the post immediately above yours? A different take on Merida (a place which I liked, but didn't stay long).
I'm impressed that the black market rate has more than doubled since I was there less than 3 years ago. Makes it clear why anyone who can afford it wants to hold dollars; there's no percentage in holding your money in local currency. Even three years ago, a lot of hotels, tour companies, and others accustomed to dealing with tourists were accepting credit card payments or bank transfers directly to offshore accounts--mostly in Europe, in my experience. That's another way to get around the currency controls if you're doing touristy stuff. Mark |
Thanks a LOT for this useful information!!
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IPhone goes for $3000 USD? Are those illegal to bring into the country? Also do you know any more about the $1000 USD limit? I'd like to bring more than that. Also what exchange are you getting for Brazilian reias in comparison to $USD? |
Hi,
On my trip i was very worryed about Venezuela as well but all these bad storys were wrong. Of course people there went around with big knifes but not to kill me but to cut and offer fresh fruits. Who would offer fruits to a stranger in our country? We would rather call the police...but people in Venezuela were sooo friendly http://reisemotorrad.eu/small/ecuador-columbien_073.jpg http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_ecuador-columbien |
Venezuela is awesome!
We just rode through Venezuela and down to Manaus arriving here yesterday.
As everyone here on the hubb has said Venezuela really is a beautiful country, and as stated official exchange rate is crappy, but black market rates are "good". Most hostels we stayed at were happy for us to transfer money and give us Bolivares. As you're going to Santa Elena, I'd highly recommend staying at "Posada Backpackers" Eric, the owner is German, super friendly, had space for our bikes in the "deposito" in the hostel. He also has another place much nicer, and not much more expensive (but we're out of money.... end of the trip...) We arrived from Colombia having carried US dollars all the way from Ecuador, and just kept it well hidden. Officials at the border will ask you if you have dollars..... say no, or as I did, keep a tenner in your wallet and say that's the only dollars I have (pretending to be unaware of the money situation), show him your wallet and ask him where the ATM is. We had friends in Venezuela, but it was easy enough to meet people to change money. Taxi drivers (the expensive ones in fancy cars) seem to be the way to go (just don't blurt out.... I wanna change money, start a conversation first). We meet a couple of them in Caracas and Valencia. email me if you want their details. Nice guys. rate for $ is from 20 to 24 (once we got 26) Bolivares for $1. Depending who you meet. Euro is 26 to 30 Bolivares per Euro depending who you meet. We didn't feel threatened or unsafe in Venezuela (which is more than I can say for Manaus... this place is horrible!!!) Have fun. And greet all the wonderful friendly Venezuelans from us!! Beaches, mountains, the plains... everywhere!! Stunning! |
Going to Venezuela
Hey - I'm in Manaus now, and am leaving to Venezuela in the next few days. interested in meeting up? I would like to hear about your experiences - I can share plenty info on travel in Brasil - 6 months here to date - ferry info to Belem, etc.
jason www.bodeswell.com |
I also have plenty of GPS info on camping, etc...
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Thanks for all the good reviews guys!
it's good to hear you had a great time here! we hope more travellers visit us and write reviews like these that will change people's wrong impression about our country. Visit my town Colonia Tovar in the mountains near caracas, I´m not advertising just trying to help offering info on cheap accommodation with 2 meals for $25 u.s. in my posada N 10 24.284 W 67 17.275 also lots of free info in English and nice motorcycle trips on dirt roads down to the beach nearby. thanks and hope to provide useful info on my country for riders wanting to visit. www.posadacoloniatovar.com
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Gee.... I am always amazed by the misunderstandings and misconceptions about Venezuela.
To put things straight, there is no limit on the amount of foreign currency you can bring into Venezuela BUT if you enter more than USD10,000 you have to register them with Seniat. (same as in the US and other countries) The $1,000 limit somebody referred to must be a confusion he had with the maximum value of goods Venezuelans and residents are allowed to bring back into the country duty-free at each trip. As for the price of an unlocked iphone 4S 16Gb today in Venezuela, $600 iphone 5 16Gb $800 ipad mini 16Gb $350 As for the black market exchange rates, you'll have approximately the same rate, about 30 today in Cucuta, Maicao, Santa Elena or Caracas.... |
Afternoon fellas and fellesses
We finally arrived in Colombia, getting our feet on the ground and establishing what is what. Venezuela is on my list but not Ellens, we have three months in Colombia then decide which way we want to go from there, keen to meet the Dakar in Uyuni then probably turn around and head back up to see what we missed but Ellen is so so about Venezuela. Any good advice in addition to the above is welcomed, obviously we will be keeping our ears on the ground too however we are interested if any "hot spots" turn up. Rubber side down Cheers Andi |
Venezuela
Thanks for the info. I'll stop in on my way through.
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Safe. I spend 3 weeks in Venezuela and returned to Colombia a week ago. I crossed the border from Maicao and Cucuta. I felt safe during the trip. I didn't ride nighttime or camp in Venezuela. Especially the police and military were very helpful in Venezuela. But don't expect people to be as friendly as in Colombia. Take plenty of dollars (black market rate 28, you might get more)with you when you go. International creditcards don't always work there...I run into trouble with this. The nature is stunning and the roads ok to ride.
El Burro | a mototravel blog from Latin-America |
Hi,
I came out from Venezuela (Santa Elena de Uairem) two days ago I didn't had any problems in enezuela, I entered through Maracaibo (I don't remember the name, coming from Guajira in Colombia) driving during nighttime ;) no problmes, but there is a lot of tension, people are really scared about safety. I cannot tell how much I risked ,since nothing happened, but local people are really scared for informatin, road from Santa Elena to Manaus is almost perfect, but the initial part on Brasilian side and same hole during the way to Manaus, but 90% is really good ciao, Nelik (Nelinkas | Le ruote come le ali … volano in Sud America seguendo sogni e suggestioni) |
I just went through Venezuela for the last 2 weeks. Entered From Brazil via Santa Elena and exited west of Maracaibo into Venezuela.
One big thing is that a guy i ran into (not on a bike) said that he could not enter Venezuela by land from Colombia. He tried the crossing west of Maracaibo a few times with different shifts of staff. They all said no without any further questions. He had a meeting with the Immigration chief and was told bribes will not help - they are stopping English, Canadians, US and Australians from entering by land from Colombia. He told me he had previously heard from other travelers who had the same problem but they had tried at the Cucuta/San Cristobal Crossing - hence he tried the other one (Maracaibo), but without success. To enter Venezuela he went from Colombia down the Amazon to Manaus then up to Boa Vista. Spoke to Venezuelan represenatives there who phoned the Santa Elena border and confirmed he should be fine to enter. He entered by Santa Elena fine, as did I (Australian too). Exit from Venezuela into Colombia by Land is supposed to be fine, and indeed I went through today... eventually with a few hicups. I searched the internet for more info on this but found nothing exactly the same - only that some immigration officers sometimes require proof of onward journey when you enter by land - bus or plane tickets. Venezuela was interesting. Super cheap gasoline. Bring US dollars for sure and you should get 30 to 35 Bolivars for $100 notes. Euros are also good too apparently. This makes this country cheap for westerners. Most people were very friendly and helpful. A few people that are supposed to be in the service industry were a bit useless and rude, but you get that. Overall people were nice to me and I was glad I went - I was a bit worried a few months ago if I should go or not. There are some amazing sights in this country and the waterfalls in the wet season (now) are well worth a look - especially the biggest of them all. I never saw or heard of safety issues directly, but everyone was pointing out what was safe or not. I kept my head down and planned my routes and options for where I could stay each night just to be sure. No riding at night as usual. Had a few stops by police at checkpoints and only at one did they ask for money to let me pass. I feigned ignorance and poor spanish understanding and he eventually gave me my passport and License back without any money changing hands. At two checkpoints they were interested if I was carrying a gun, and one thought my extandable walking stick might be a gun until it was proved otherwise. All the locals are searched a lot so no problems with this happening to a foreigner too. Nelik I saw you on the road somewhere about a week ago! I think we were both going over a speed bump (I don't remember which one) and nodded to each other. |
I have two french friends who travelled around South America with a Pinzgauer. In Venezuela, near Maturin, a guy got machine gunned two cars behind them and the girl recieved a lost bullet. Fortunatly, the wound was superficial and the surgeon managed to take the bullet off the muscle without consequences.
It s all about not being in the wrong place at the wrong moment. They off course left Venezuela for Colombia fairly quickly after that unlucky experience. |
I met a guy who'd blown through a roadblock just north of Santa Elena de Uairen and almost gotten machine gunned off his bike. But then again, my own closest encounters with gunfire have all been at home in the USA.
None of this discouraged me from travel in Venezuela, which is a good thing. At the few roadblocks where I was asked for money I told them I was related to Fidel (beard, you know) and they thought that was funny and let me pass. Wonderful scenery and generally very good people--just like everywhere else. I'd be interested in hearing more about the border closure, which would make it impossible to enter from anywhere but Brazil. Awkward. Mark |
Great info guys, we are looking to go from Colombia through Venezuela down through Brazil to meet the Dakar in January in Bolivia, either that or via Ecuador and Peru, stilling tossing which way at this point, both options are quieter than Colombia at the mo :eek3:
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What's going on in Columbia
In Suriname heading to Guyana and boa vista to Venezuela |
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We as have many other travellers have been stuck in various places while the thick of the action was on. |
Hey guys
Day 3 entered saint Elena cool Aduane even took the copies Stayed night Changed money Brasil side good rates In upata Except for being short of stock in some places People great friendly Hugo Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2 |
Hi. We toured earlier this year, we never really felt very safe once out of the Gran Sabana. It's a bit difficult and hair-raising and people often seem to have a bad attitude, but still we have a pretty awesome experience.
We have a number of posts with details about the places we visited, hostels, cost, etc on our blog http://www.2fortheroad.co.uk/ Keep your eyes focussed on the road surface coz anything can happen!!! |
green backs and red lights
October 2012, I entered VZ from to border east of Maicao, Colombia. At the frontier a cambo guy offered me an exchange rate that didn't make sense, it was too much money in my favor, so I figured I wasn't using my currency calculator correctly and passed on the deal. i just didn't know about the black market rates... Later exchanged USD at our hotel for a better than bank rate.
The roads by the border were the worst, followed by the condition of the cars. Many of the vehicles looked like they had been in several demolition derby contests, and lost every one. The drivers are a touch aggressive and took passing notice of traffic lights. Yellow definitely means speed up because it about to turn red. And you better be moving into the intersection when the light turns green or you'll get run over by the car behind you. Look at it this way, you get lots of time back in your life that is usually wasted at traffic lights. After dark the locals slow down at red lights. No one is going to come to a stop and take a chance of being robbed. Went out with a local in Caracas to hang out with his friends. When it was time to leave the host slipped a Glock 9mm into the back waist line of his pants and walked us out to street. There were several of us chatting before getting into out respective cars, strength in number, so we were in a hurry. While talking on the street a police patrol went by, a pack of 15 or so motorcycles on a suburban street. Seems they like to travel in numbers too. I personally never had a problem in VZ. Rode to Cuidad Bolivar, flew to Angel Falls, rode down the south eastern parts to Brazil. Camped out in a gold miners garage on night, in El Dorado. Well, that town was a little rough. I went there alone, but would recommend going in larger numbers if you have to go there. No real reason to stop, the hotels are permanently rented out to gold miners. Last thing, spend all of you VZ money before leaving. Even the locals call it monkey money, and no one wants it once you leave. |
Venezuela now Oktober 2013
Venezuela now Oktober 2013
Crossed at a small border crossing near Cucuta, and than got my bike import documents in San Antonio (just over the bridge from Cucuta) Changed money in Cucuta .... 45,7 BSF for 1 USD (100 USD note), in San Antonio they only wanted to give me 35 BSF took about three hours to do the paperwork for the bike, but it is easy if you speak a little spanish. Insurance was 195 BSF, the first office asked for 1200 BSF so I went to the next. so far the only problem was getting fuel in the province of Tachira (near the border) Saludos de Upata mika [QUOTE] Last thing, spend all of you VZ money before leaving. Even the locals call it monkey money, and no one wants it once you leave. [QUOTE] this will be difficult, even I can not drink that much jeiger |
road work designed to take out motos!
When it comes to safety, the thing I hated the most about VZ are the extra deep grooves they cut into the asphalt when they are resurfacing. Its like crossing a metal bridge, where the surface pulls you wheels this way, then that way. Totally nerve bending. I couldn't figure out the best speed to manage my way through the gauntlets. For sure you can't go too slow as someone in a car or truck will ride up behind you. Some times the stretch of road work is short and some times I almost pulled over to take a break from the grooves that are clearly designed to make riding as dangerous as possible.
And then the torture was over, the highway opened, the road surface was great, and because the gas is so cheap you twist the throttle like there is no tomorrow. That part I loved. |
45.7??!! Wow, I heard that after the currency adjustment a short while after we'd left one should be getting around 25 (compared to the 18 we had got)... but 45.7??? Incrrrredible!
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I'm ignoring a few factors, of course, but in terms of economic devastation that pretty much captures it. Mark |
Harsh point. And as you may have noticed, EVERYTHING there is imported! Aside from petrol maybe.
I wonder how much the poorer classes are shielded from the impact given the social welfare benefits. |
A fascinating example of a Black Market economy
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A further 3rd point concerned the empty new car showrooms which cannot get vehicles into the country for sale because of currency controls on the US$ - hence the resulting black market that inevitably springs up inside any national system that tries to beat the supply and demand free market in any commodity, including currencies (the earlier reference to dealing with a Euro based bank for day-to-day transactions is a case in point). |
29/10/2013
Black market rate for 1 USD (100 notes) is now 50 BSF here in Santa Elena on the border with Brazil, maybe you can even get more if you bargain harder.
29/10/2013 mika |
scary situation. just discussing this subject with my wife - does that not have the potential to turn any 'gringo' (i.e. any foreigner in VEN) into a potential target for robbery? be smart with your shit.
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In Venezuela
Arrived in Venezuela on 20 Oct. Crossed from Cucuta into San Antonio and everything went good. It was a Sunday and was not able to process the moto documents however I was allowed to ride in and take care of it on Monday. A bit confusing chasing down the insurance and then find two stamps you need, tax stamps that cost 27 Bolivares.
Changed Colombian pesos on the Colombian side and received a rate that equaled 44 to 1 USD. You can get more for the USD depending on your location. Gas was difficult to get in the border state, you need some sort of card that has a chip in it at the fuel stations to purchase gas. There's a lot of fuel being bought by Colombians and taken back across the border and sold on the BM and this is their attempt in curbing it. No issues anywhere else I've been, 25 liters of 95 octane cost 2.5 Bolivares, almost free. As for safety and security, I've not had any issues however, the locals have warned me about certain areas and not to wander around alone at night, especially in Caracas. The roads are good for the most part, lots of big pot holes and dug out spots in some places. The roads in the mountain areas are great to ride. From what I've seen the country is beautiful and the people are friendly and helpful. |
Hi guys
Thought I'd update my travels through Venezuela Entry Santa Elena To cuidiad Bolivar don Carlos Posada German biker and parking good for angel falls tour Barcelona, porto la Cruz nice busy spot Cumuna for ferry to isla margaritas Cheaper that from Porto la Cruz 3 1/2 hr approx 700 bolivar return Need photocopy of docs Then across to heugote For a great coastal mountain rd to Caracas then corro and maricaibo Fight across to Aruba 9000 Bolivar for a week Friendly Kawasaki dealer stored bike no charge Down to valera merida and being accosted by biker in san cristabol For 2 weeks due to boarder closed a week to Colombia for mayoral elections Excited to cutata without stamp out of Aduana due to just couldn't find it There was a 10km que to get to boarder was caos but fun Overall 5 wks Last exchange was at 55 USD 65 Euro Great friendly people Lots of people mention danger but didn't have any Great roads Nice food Found other drivers were extremely Courteous giving lots of space Overall a great place Hugo Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2 |
Just driving through Venezuela, route Santa Elena -> Cucuta.
Never felt threatened. People are generally very friendly, some of them speak English, which is a nice suprise. Managed to sell some dollars today at a local mercado on my way to Merida. Rate 52 Bs for dollar. Generally at rate 50 BS/dollar almost everyone will buy from you, because they know that blackmarket rate is above 60. Only once I got stopped by the police, they checked my papers and let me go. The only dangerous thing in my opinion is that Venezuelans drive like crazy. Bigger goes first, remember. |
Hi,
Whats the latest news on no-go areas? We have been reading about the current issues since the opposition leader has been imprisoned.... We are hoping to go from Colombia via Venezuela to northern Brazil.... Is this route still safe? Just read about issues in San Christobal. The Game Changed in Venezuela Last Night – and the International Media Is Asleep At the Switch | Caracas Chronicles Merv. |
Merv,
I'm currently in San Cristobal. I would strongly recommend travelers do not come through this area right now. Most of the roads are either blockaded, or were previously blockaded, and there's metal, nails, broken glass etc all over the streets. I haven't ridden in more than a week due to this. Even the main roads through town are blocked. The police/Mil are generally concentrated in a few areas; many areas that were reasonably safe (Barrio Obrero, Las Pilas) are now quite dangerous, even in the middle of the day. It's a bit of a ghost town; most people haven't gone to work in more than a week, and are staying indoors, so any services needed (w/exception of medical) aren't readily available. That being said, if you're crossing here, feel free to contact me for updated info or a place to stay. Best, - Agave |
Agave, many thanks for this! Hope you are save and well? I may ask again the situation on Monday when we need to make our final decision on what to do.
Merv |
Hi Agave,
I know there are no guarantees, and things are changing daily, but I am wondering if it is possible to enter from Cucuta,Colombia, and to skip San Cristibal by staying south of the city? For example, after entering Venezuela, going to Rubio, then to El Tambo to Route 5, and then head East? once we are over 100km from the border, things should be ok - right? We are also wondering if we crossed the border into Venezuela late in the afternoon, and slept in the customs post, then hit the road at sunrise the following morning, we should avoid any protests... Might that help? We do not need anywhere special to sleep, just a bit of safe ground. We stay 100% inside the trucks in these situations. We would be traveling in 2 large 4x4 trucks, so broken glass or small rubble would not bother us too much. Shipping containers and mining truck tyres on the other hand..... Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated, even if those words are "do not chance it"! If we do go through, is there any way we can help? anything we can bring you from Colombia? Space is not much of a problem.... Just that you will need to meet us somewhere safe... Merv. |
It seems like the consensus among Venezuelans is that the situation is risky for all in Venezuela right now. See this link for more info:
What's happening in Venezuela? - ADVrider While the Australian travel advisory is at it's highest level - Do Not Travel - for the region nearest the border with Colombia, individuals within Venezuela are offering the same advice but even more broadly. Just wanted to pass along some more info so your decision can be well-informed. |
Merv,
I've been speaking to a friend in San Antonio often for updates, as I need to cross to Colombia for some business as soon as possible. Over the border was closed yesterday, as well as today. Being the anniversary of Chavez's death, it may have been preemptive, and will possibly be open in the morning. Once the border is open you can take the route you mentioned, or even skirt by San Cristobal for now; the streets have cleared up quite a bit recently due to the Carnaval holiday. Who knows how long that will last. I will send you a PM with contact info. Suerte! - Agave |
We crossed in to Venezuela 2 days ago, up north at Maicao. No problems, and in coro now. Avoiding the cities all we can. The people are great!
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Venezuela now
Howdy, We are picking up our bike in Rio end Sept 2014 and heading north towards Colombia and Venezuela... would really love some up to date info on the situation in Venezuela and road conditions.
Cheers, |
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Riding solo (or two bikes) into Venezuela from Columbia soon
Thanks for any current reports of the northern area. We were hoping to ride to Maracaibo and around the area. I'm avoiding all cities, especially Caracas, and was told San Cristobal is still not back to normal. Appreciate any and all current updates.
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I drove through and stayed in most cities in VZ. No problems of any kind. I would say VZ is one of the safer places i have visited.
The only annoyance with VZ is the lack of fueling stations. Not many of the stations have diesel. If you want gasoline, no problem just wait in line for a non-trivial amount of time. Highly recommend visiting Mochima PN. Stay at the Petite Jardin in Sante Fe http://www.lepetitjardin-mochima.com |
We are currently in Venezuela and its awesome and very cheap with a 100 as the exchange rate currently!!
Anyone else in Venezuela at the moment? We came in from Santa Elena border with Brazil, all very easy, but slow... dont go through at lunch time, they close down!! Fuel is the cheapest in the world and very friendly locals and bikers!:D |
Are there any borders i should stay away from? I will cross from Brasil(Manaus -> Pacaraima) and go to Cuidad Boliviar and then somehow to Columbia.
I hope i will reache Venezuela in about 8-10 days. Greetings Martin |
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