“When they’re standing in a group and dealing with cash you know they’re bachaqueros,” said a young National Guard outside a supermarket in Caracas. “They’re the first to arrive, they disrupt public order to push into the queues,” he explained. “We’re trying to survive, but you can’t live on minimum wage anymore – this way I can make 25,000 Bolivares a day if I wanted to,” said Maritza bagging a pack of rice for a client. “I was trying to protect my products,” she said, looking at the packs of sugar, flour and rice in front of her – precious commodities in today’s Venezuela.
Venezuela Dismantles Network Manipulating Parallel Dollar: Government Defends Economic Sovereignty
- As one journalist with experience covering oil theft in Colombia told InSight Crime, with authorities focused on the lockdown and on more violent forms of organized crime during the pandemic, oil theft has been able to fly under the radar.
- Transfers often occur away from ports and in areas with limited surveillance, increasing the likelihood of oil spills.
- On 26 February, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to end General License 41, which allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela despite sanctions.
- This was mainly due to dwindling dollar reserves, which are vital for stabilizing the currency.
- Ideal marketplaces support anonymous browsing through networks like Tor and I2P, utilize privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero, and implement measures to prevent tracking and transaction tracing.
- Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders.
Governments and businesses must invest in advanced threat intelligence, cyber defense, and counter-espionage measures. To access darknets, users typically need to download and configure the Tor Browser; a modified version of Mozilla Firefox that routes all traffic through the Tor network. This browser enables access to websites with .onion domain extensions, which are specific to the Tor network. These addresses cannot be resolved by conventional DNS servers, contributing to the hidden nature of darknets. Reporters talked to numerous Venezuelans with knowledge of the creative financial schemes that helped sink the country’s economy, either as participants or as scholars.
With several seizures of thousands of gallons of stolen gasoline being made, Ecuador also stood out. And while gasoline smuggled from Ecuador has been used to produce cocaine and move drugs in Colombia in the past, one clandestine refinery was found in September in the province of Sucumbíos, near a pipeline stretching across the border. The facility tapped oil directly from the pipeline, refined it on site and loaded it onto waiting boats.
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Russian Market has consistently remained one of the most popular and valuable data stores on the dark web. The platform’s activity has increased significantly over the past year, indicating its growing influence and market share in the underground economy. In Chile, sales of illegal cigarettes, both on the street and online, became a convenient way to make ends meet.
I’ve poked around; it’s not overwhelming, just a tight selection that works—think curated over chaotic. If you’re into a darknet market with a community pulse and solid uptime, Bohemia Dark Market’s climbing the ranks—give it a spin if you like a vibe that’s less corporate, more crew. The parallel exchange rate, which is widely used in everyday transactions but operates outside the official system, surged nearly 25% following Washington’s recent tightening of sanctions. While the official rate moved marginally—from 63 to 70.59 bolívars per U.S. dollar—the parallel rate spiked from 80 to 104 before settling at 101. The Chavista of Nicolás Maduro deployed prosecutors nationwide to ensure businesses use the official Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) exchange rate, aiming to curb speculation and protect consumer rights.
US Dollar As Safe Haven
- This means that the servers providing these services are only accessible via Tor and do not have a public IP address or domain name.
- Adding to the turmoil, Washington announced “secondary tariffs” on nations buying Venezuelan crude.
- Archetyp’s takedown might make headlines, but it won’t stop the trade of illicit drugs on the dark web.
- The data covers over 18,000 accounts that were open from the 1940s until well into the last decade.
- Singularity™ Threat Intelligence provides insights into adversary tactics and helps mitigate these risks before they impact your organization.
- For Venezuelans like Maritza “bachaqueo” is a form of survival in a country that is quickly imploding under the weight of governmental mismanagement, to others it’s a harmful activity that is sucking the country dry.
Some dark web marketplaces even host content that’s not just illegal but extremely harmful, so it’s really important to understand the risks before diving in. The first category includes classic marketplaces, which serve as one-stop shops for a wide range of illegal goods. These platforms sell everything from drugs and fake IDs to weapons and hacking tools, resembling a digital black-market bazaar. Tor2door’s been a standout since 2020—over 20,000 listings and a custom-built site that’s not some cookie-cutter junk. They take BTC and Monero, with multi-signature escrow and global shipping—vendors swear by it, and I’ve snagged rare stuff (think DMT or niche scripts) without a hitch.
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They operate similarly to regular e-commerce sites but use cryptocurrencies for transactions. Most dark markets have user review systems and vendor ratings to establish trust. Law enforcement regularly shuts down these markets, but new ones continuously emerge. Dark markets, on the other hand, are platforms within darknets where illicit transactions occur. These marketplaces facilitate the exchange of everything from stolen credentials and drugs to weapons and hacking tools. The anonymity and encryption provided in dark markets create a haven for cybercriminals and nation-state actors to buy and sell dangerous assets while evading detection.
Retailers, restaurants, and small businesses now face audits, hefty fines, and even forced closures for pricing goods using the parallel rate—despite the reality that many imported products are priced in dollars. “We risk fines which would mean shutting down the business, as they’re unaffordable,” a Caracas shopkeeper told the Financial Times, requesting anonymity for fear of government reprisal. Official dollar rates are displayed on signs as required by law, but real transactions are negotiated verbally at black market rates.
Size Of Listings
Other countries have reported death tolls in the dozens, or even hundreds, such as the Dominican Republic, Peru and Costa Rica. Banchs said the economic policies of President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government have hampered the growth of the business sector, and corruption and a plunge in the price of oil have increased the burden on the country’s economy. A Canadian market established in 2021, WTN offers over 9,000 products, including narcotics, fake goods, and digital services. It operates in both French and English and has built a reputation for ease-of-use. As a user or cybersecurity professional, approaching these marketplaces demands utmost caution, thorough knowledge of operational security, and constant awareness of legal boundaries. Understanding both the benefits and dangers ensures safer interaction and more informed decision-making in an ever-changing digital environment.
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But because of the high demand for cheap goods as inflation soars, supermarket shelves are empty more often than not, forcing many to the black market just to be able to eat. In Venezuela, the crippled economy has seen the devaluation of the price of the bolivar (the local currency) and a sharp rice in the cost of essential commodities, such as bread and rice. We’re back with another video in our Webz Insider video series on everything web data. Authorities have clamped down with stricter sentences for smugglers, stating that they contributed to other crimes, such as extortion and money laundering.
It is considered a go-to site for malware purchasing, providing keyloggers, trojans, and other Malware as a Service products. The Mexico Chamber of Commerce estimated that contraband would cost the economy $5 billion in 2020. In Peru, seizures of contraband goods rose from 4.2 million items from January to August 2019 to 18 million items for the same period in 2020.
Typical Use-Cases Of Dark-Web Marketplaces In 2025
Learn how to automate financial risk reports using AI and news data with this guide for product managers, featuring tools from Webz.io and OpenAI. Established in 2022, WizardShop is one of the biggest data stores on the dark web, focusing mainly on carding and financial data. Its focus on financial fraud and high-value transactions has attracted a dedicated user base, contributing to its growing reputation and market value.
‘I Know It’s Not Right, But I Need To Survive’: Venezuela’s Black Marketeers Gouge Residents On Necessities
According to the website Banca y Negocios‘ data, the BCV injected $400 million into the foreign exchange market in May as part of its supply policy. Attorney General Tarek William Saab has cited crimes of “economic terrorism” for destabilization, noting direct links between parallel dollar manipulation and political agendas orchestrated by a far-right opposition wing. Since the July 2024 elections, the gap between the parallel exchange rate and the BCV rate has widened, creating a climate of economic uncertainty. The phrase “parallel dollar” usually refers to the devaluation of the bolívar against the dollar.
