The Black Market Dollar Had Its ‘Black Friday’ in Venezuela

By Misión Verdad – Jun 2, 2025

Last Friday, May 20, was a “Black Friday” for informal retail transactions powered by the parallel, or black market, dollar in Venezuela.

The phrase “parallel dollar” usually refers to the devaluation of the bolívar against the dollar. In this case, it refers to the “blackout” of various parallel exchanges of the US currency as a result of police actions carried out by the Venezuelan government in recent days.

The events have occurred in a cascade, as have the reactions, especially in informal retail purchases and sales of foreign currency and in businesses or activities that use the Monitor Dólar Venezuela trackers and the Al Cambio app to set prices.

However, the equation of events is much broader and more complex.

1. Arrests, falls, and cessation of operations
The Venezuelan Ministry of the Interior, Justice, and Peace and Venezuela’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of 25 people in several states. These individuals are believed to be part of a “financial terrorism” network associated with the manipulation of the parallel dollar price.

Those arrested are believed to be community managers, administrators, liquidity providers, programmers, e-wallet operators, payment recipients, and operators.

These individuals are believed to be linked to platforms such as Monitor Dólar Venezuela, BilleteraP2P, DolarMonitoreo, Cambios La Victoria, Tu Cambio Ideal, CambiosSRYA, and AlCambioVzla.

Following the arrest of Carlos Andrés Pérez Abreu, the creator and manager of several accounts, the system for disclosing the black market dollar price began to collapse.

First, Monitor Dólar Venezuela accounts stopped updating. A Telegram channel about the platform was renamed a news channel and began publishing only the official Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) rate.

Then came the Al Cambio app, considered the most widely used calculator of its kind in the country, which reflected a parallel dollar value of Bs. 0.01. This also rendered the so-called “average” rate, which was set at a value exactly halfway between the BCV dollar and the parallel dollar, useless.

Then came Venezuela’s withdrawal from the El Dorado wallet, a P2P system for purchasing USDT. This was announced in a video by its creator, Guillermo Goncalves Espiga.

Evidently nervous, Goncalves took responsibility for El Dorado’s operations, apologized to business owners, and reaffirmed the BCV exchange rate as the only official rate in the country. He said his platform did not want to be accused of practices associated with the parallel dollar, but was part of Monitor Dólar’s publications. A previous video in which he urged businesses and merchants not to use the BCV rate in their operations was circulated on social media.

El Dorado has run marketing campaigns by paying Venezuelan influencers, including Miguel Herrera, known as “Kilómetro internacional,” and Ricardo del Búfalo.

2. Links with the extremist opposition
According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the investigations leading to these arrests have been ongoing for over a year, since the probe into the financing sources of María Corina Machado’s “comanditos” began.

The deep political ties of these operators remain to be determined. However, there is clear congruence between disproportionate fluctuations in the parallel dollar and the timing of political events.

Since the July 2024 elections, the gap between the parallel exchange rate and the BCV rate has widened, creating a climate of economic uncertainty.

3. Friday of the fortnight
The shutdown of the platforms caused confusion among individuals who sold and bought dollars in cash or offered goods and services informally based on unofficial rates.

Discussions about the reference rate level, rigging, speculation and “blind” trading prevailed in many cases, while others preferred to hold back until the situation was clarified.

Meanwhile, shopping centers, grocery stores, and formal retail outlets—which almost universally operate using the BCV rate—saw normal business. In fact, many likely went shopping hoping to acquire goods at advantageous prices, especially on a Friday during the two weeks marked by special circumstances.

4. Euro or Binance
The “captive space” created by the exit of these platforms led some microeconomic agents to turn to other currency price references, such as USDT’s value on Binance (P2P) or even equating the dollar’s value with the euro rate announced by the BCV.

The problem with using Binance is that it is a small peer-to-peer marketplace with tiny, technically retail, transaction amounts.

This market is not representative of most foreign exchange transactions in Venezuela that use bolívars and dollars. Consequently, it would be a rate susceptible to distortion and manipulation.

Conversely, using the “euro rate,” regulated by the BCV, has a much lower differential than any parallel benchmark.

The unofficial dollar has been considered distorting not only because it exists outside the formal market but also because its most corrosive effect is the exchange rate differential created by manipulation. Consequently, many informal traders likely prefer the “gray zone” of referencing the “euro rate” due to its minimal differential and BCV backing.

Social media users also report emerging WhatsApp channels called “Monitor Dollar,” inviting users to join for price updates.

This is particularly dangerous since these anonymous groups attempt to exploit the situation and impose a dissemination mechanism for speculative purposes. Furthermore, they undermine monetary governance efforts implemented in recent days.

5. Response to context
Since the July 28, 2024, elections, various actors with political and economic objectives have fostered uncertainty, coup threats, and general instability.

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.

In economic opinion circles, some have attempted to position the thesis that US oil company Chevron’s reduced operations in Venezuela will cause a “foreign currency drought” and collapse the exchange rate system as operated in recent years.

These elements combine to create nervous reactions, stampedes, and distortions to fuel the bolívar’s devaluation trends in the informal economy. This impacts the entire economy, unleashing speculative practices in the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV)-governed pricing system.

The judicial advance against these groups, while key to strengthening economic governance parameters, is not the only factor.

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. This is the highest amount this year and exceeds April’s figure by 29.03%.

Likewise, the outlet reported that foreign currency flow into banking via the BCV was 20.48% higher than the $332 million sold to the financial system in May 2024.

Furthermore, the dollar’s official price closed May at 96.86 bolívars—an 11.53% increase from April, when the official exchange rate rose 25%. The two-month trend indicates exchange rate alignment with official system transactions.

Venezuela’s Authorities Hit Black Market Dollar Mafias

The data suggests the formal exchange rate could soon reach equilibrium, correcting distortions generated by the black market ecosystem.

Foreign currency supply is critical here. Currently, most currency in the exchange system comes from private suppliers. However, oil activities remain crucial as Venezuela’s main export.

The reduced operations of Chevron and other foreign companies have been addressed by PDVSA, the majority partner in joint oil and gas developments.

President Nicolás Maduro and Minister Delcy Rodríguez activated the Ministry of Hydrocarbons’ Situational Control and Monitoring Room to verify compliance with the Absolute Productive Independence Plan. Through this, the government aims to maintain production and mitigate license cancellation impacts.

These measures affect the entire economic ecosystem, including the foreign exchange market. The oil-currency supply link is direct, so safeguarding oil production will be essential for the monetary system’s stability in the coming months.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SF