The Venezuelan government has deployed 17,000 troops to the country's border with Colombia in an anti-smuggling operation that will close the border each night for the next month, BBC reported.

The border was closed for the first time on Monday night, as Venezuela is stepping up efforts to reduce smuggling. Venezuelan officials say that around 40 percent of good that the country subsidizes are smuggled to Colombia where they can be sold for much higher prices.

For example, gasoline is subsidized in Venezuela, and citizens can often fill up their gas tanks for less than $1, an unheard-of price in most of the rest of the world.

The border between the two countries will close each night at 10 p.m. and reopen at 5 a.m., both times are local to Venezuela. Larger vehicles, like cargo vans, will be restricted from crossing the border at 6 p.m. each day. Colombia has agreed to the measure.

"There is plenty of evidence to show that most of the smuggling is done overnight," said Jose Vielma Mora, governor of the western Venezuelan state of Tachira.

Smuggling is seen as a problem on both sides of the border, as profits from the illegal goods are used in Colombia to finance drug gangs and guerrillas. In Venezuela, the smuggling has led to shortages of staple goods, high crime rates and inflation. Earlier this year, Venezuelans took to the streets to protest these issues.

The Venezuelan government estimates that 40 percent of the country's basic commodities are smuggled across the border with Colombia, including 100,000 barrels of oil each day, News 24 reported. Annual losses from the smuggled goods equal about $3.7 billion.

"We have 17,000 troops deployed along the entire border zone, and they are enough to guarantee security," said Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who is in charge of the border closing.