Slow Times in the San Andresitos

Anti-riot police stand in front of shuttered San Andresito shops along Calle 13.

San Andresitos employees, or customers,
wait outside the shuttered stores.

In what is normally the biggest time of year for the San Andresitos shops, the police cracked down today on these shops along Calle 13 for allegedly selling contraband products.

The San Andresitos, named after Colombia's San Andres archipelago, which has a notorious history of smuggling and piracy, sell imported clothing, electronics and other goods, often of uncertain provenance. Rumor has it that lots of the stuff is imported in exchange for outgoing drugs.

A man, apparently associated with the San Andresitos told us that the police had cracked down on the stores for not paying taxes.

"But if you pay taxes, you can't make any money," he said in disbelief at what the authorities were asking of them.

Frustration...and lost sales.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours