- Title: VENEZUELA-COLOMBIA Colombia recalls ambassador to Venezuela amid border crisis
- Date: 28th August 2015
- Summary: CUCUTA, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COLOMBIAN POLICE ALONG BORDER VARIOUS OF VENEZUELAN GUARD ALONG BORDER HOLGUIN SPEAKING TO DEPORTED WOMAN GENERAL VIEW OF COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MARIA ANGELA HOLGUIEN, TOGETHER WITH INTERIOR MINISTER, JUAN FERNANDO CRISTO, WALKING IN BORDER AREA VARIOUS OF HOLGUIN AT BORDER AREA WHERE COLOMBIAN CITIZENS ARE CROSSING BY RIVER
- Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2ULQRKDDFU8TA7RJOS3SOF6PN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Venezuela and Colombia each recalled their ambassadors to the other country on Thursday (August 27), amid a diplomatic crisis sparked when socialist-run Venezuela closed two border crossings and deported over a thousand Colombians.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shut the crossings last week after a shootout between smugglers and troops wounded three soldiers. He later extended the closing indefinitely and has characterised the deportations as a crackdown on paramilitary gangs.
But his Colombian counterpart raised human rights concerns of the mass deportations during a visit to the border town of Cucuta earlier this week.
Speaking to supporters in Caracas on Thursday (August 27), Maduro ruled out such concerns and accused Santos of lying over the issue.
"President (Juan Manuel) Santos I respect you but you are deceived President Santos. But I think that the worst thing is that at this level that they deceive you President Santos. Yesterday you went to Cucuta and they deceived you cruelly deceived you. Everything they said, one by one the things are false, President Santos. I have videos, I have proof, I have witnesses and I can show that they deceived you and that you lied publicly, President Santos," he said.
Maduro says the deportations are part of a crackdown on Colombian paramilitaries who smuggle fixed-price goods and traffic drugs on the porous 2,219-km. (1,379-mile) border.
Nearly 1,100 Colombians living in Venezuela have been deported since the 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.
Colombia's Foreign Minister, Maria Angela Holguien, and Interior Minister, Juan Fernando Cristo, toured the border area themselves to see the extent of the crisis for themselves.
Speaking in Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced he would call for a meeting of foreign ministers of the South American bloc Unasur to resolve the crisis.
"I can't allow Venezuela to treat Colombians and the Colombian government in this way. This is why I have given instructions to the foreign minister to recall for consultation our ambassador in Venezuela for an extraordinary meeting of UNASUR foreign ministers," said Santos.
For desperate Colombian citizens on the border, the recalling of the ambassador was a long time coming.
"Too long, it took too long (to recall the ambassador) because it was so he could have been there supporting us, respecting us, valuing our human rights," said Odalis Torres.
"Sure it was late, for what, when everything has happened, when everything is over, when our house is finished and when everything is broken. It's not fair, it's excessively cruel for us Colombians," added Emilce Gaona.
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 with his neighbour to distract Venezuelans from their economic problems in the run-up to a parliamentary election in December. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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