Venezuela's president orders another border closure

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closureafter consulting with his Cabinet on Monday night.

“I have decided after careful consideration to close the border with Colombia at Paraguachón in the state of Zulia to continue with the liberation of these areas from gangs involved in contraband” Maduro said during a press conference.

It is the third of its kind since a diplomatic crisis between the two countries began. The first closures occurred at two points in the Venezuelan state of Táchira bordering the Colombian city of Cucuta and has led to a mass exodus of Colombians – including those with Venezuelan citizenship – from that country.

According to a new UN report almost 19000 Colombian citizens have left neighboring Venezuela after Maduro ordered a wave of expulsions and deportations Aug. 20 following a skirmish between smugglers and the military that resulted in the deaths of three Venezuelan soldiers. Maduro has attributed the deaths to “Colombian paramilitary” groups.

“We are fighting to overthrow a dictatorship” Maduro said Monday. “One led by Colombian paramilitaries. We will capture these paramilitaries and send them and their supporters to prison.”

The governments of the Argentina Brazil and Uruguay have all offered to help mediate the dispute but chances of a meeting between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Maduro seem remote.

“The recent declarations and decisions made last night by President Maduro which offend the dignity of the Colombian people make the possibility of any dialogue very difficult and it seems as if there isn’t any real interest on the part of the Venezuelan government to resolve this crisis” Colombian Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo told El Tiempo newspaper Tuesday.

While Santos has called for a dialogue if and when Colombians cease to be humiliated by Venezuelan policy Cristo said “it is necessary to reject and the language and terms” being sought by Maduro.
By Richard McColl