[4] United States Commerce Reports (No. 48-A), 1920.
It is within my province here to discuss communication facilities between Venezuela and other countries, both in regard to steamship facilities, and cable and wireless communication, for the purpose of determining whether or not the existing lines of communication are best suited to promote commerce between Venezuela and the countries to which and from which she exports and imports products.
The first point to be considered is that of shipping communications, since it is in ships that foreign commerce must be carried. In the following pages we shall briefly discuss Venezuelan ports, volume of shipping entering and leaving these ports and the countries and lines owning and operating these ships.
The principal Venezuelan ports in order of their importance are La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello and Ciudad Bolívar.[5]
[5] Reports of Trade Commissioner Bell, Commerce Dept.
_La Guaira_, due to its geographical position as the port nearest the United States and Europe (2,000 miles from New York and New Orleans), together with the fact that it is near Caracas, the capital and commercial centre of Venezuela, is the most important port in that country. It is therefore a port of egress and entry for Caracas and central Venezuela. Besides being the capital and largest city, Caracas is, to a peculiar degree, the centre of the commercial and industrial, as well as the political life of Venezuela. Practically every company engaged in any sort of business maintains an office in Caracas, which accounts in part for the importance of the nearby port of La Guaira.
Due to the importance of coffee and sugar growing in the district around _Maracaibo_, this port is the second in importance in Venezuela.[6] It is situated at the entrance of a great lake which opens the way to a territory rich in coffee and sugar plantations as well as in coal mines and petroleum fields. Its only disadvantage is the fact that a shallow channel which must be dredged continually prohibits the entrance of vessels of large tonnage at many periods of the year.
[6] Consular reports from La Guaira and Maracaibo.
The next port in importance, that of _Puerto Cabello_, is the inlet and outlet for a district containing three of Venezuela's largest cities, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Coro. This region is preeminently agricultural in its activities and its prosperity is largely dependent on its export trade in coffee, cacao, hides, skins, copper ore and frozen meat.