VENEZUELA-COLOMBIA/MILITARY Venezuelan military sends more troops to Colombian border

Record ID: 142139

  • Title: VENEZUELA-COLOMBIA/MILITARY Venezuelan military sends more troops to Colombian border
  • Date: 30th August 2015
  • Summary: TACHIRA, VENEZUELA (AUGUST 29, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VENEZUELAN NATIONAL GUARD PROTECTING BORDER WITH COLOMBIA COLOMBIAN FLAGS PERSON SPEAKING WITH NATIONAL GUARD TRYING TO MAKE INTO COLOMBIA PEOPLE ON BOAT HEADING TOWARDS COLOMBIA THROUGH RIVER VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ON BRIDGE ALONG BORDER VARIOUS OF VENEZUELAN NATIONAL GUARD PROTECTING BORDER LOCAL RESIDENTS ON AREA WALLS
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4M3DZPVK9BZY1FSS0ESMM6EBM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Three thousand members of Venezuela's military were mobilised at their country's border with Colombia Saturday (August 29) one day after President Nicolas Maduro announced the measure as a stand-off between the two South American countries enters its second week.
    Maduro also announced the closing of five additional border crossings which are leaving thousands of people stranded on either side of what is normally a porous border. The first crossings were closed last week after a shootout between smugglers and troops wounded three soldiers.
    Maduro has characterised the deportations as a crackdown on paramilitary gangs. He says the move is part of an effort to find Colombian paramilitaries who smuggle fixed-price goods and traffic drugs on the porous 2,219-km (1,379-mile) border.
    Both countries have recalled their ambassadors.
    The spat recalls the frequent disputes between Venezuela and Colombia during the 14-year rule of Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Critics say Maduro is copying his late mentor by stoking a crisis to distract Venezuelans from economic problems in the run-up to a parliamentary election in December. Maduro is due to travel to China and Vietnam in the hope of making deals for his country.
    Venezuela is also confronting a host of other challenges -- a drop in oil prices, inflation and widespread crime.
    Nearly 1,100 Colombians living in Venezuela have been deported since the border closure, and Santos said between 5,000 and 6,000 more have fled voluntarily.
    Many of those deported said their houses had been destroyed. Hundreds have waded across the river on the border carrying refrigerators, animals and mattresses.
    Maduro has expressed a willingness to meet his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, "wherever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants," according to Venezuelan media. Santos, for his part, has announced plans to fly to the border and meet with the Colombians who have fled Venezuela.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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