By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s crackdown on its border with Colombia has extended to a third state. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that he extended the state of emergency to an additional 10 provinces on Tuesday evening. As of now, border crossings in the Venezuelan states of Tachira, Zulia and Apure have closed, with Apure’s closing occurring Wednesday morning.
Some 18,000 of over 5 million Colombians living in Venezuela have crossed the border and returned to Colombia during the month long crisis. Some claim that they were beaten by Venezuelan security forces before crossing rivers to leave the country. Many feared reprisals from the Venezuelan government if they stayed.
The crisis began about a month ago, when Maduro closed a number of border crossings and deported 1,400 Colombians as part of an anti-corruption operation. Maduro has blamed Colombians in the country for Venezuela’s economic woes – the country has been in recession for some time.
Historically, the Venezuelan/Colombian border has been a hotbed of illegal activity, with smuggling and guerilla activity flourishing in the region. Both illegal smuggling and legal trade have suffered due to the border closures.
The declaration of a state of emergency in Venezuela suspends certain constitutional rights, and allows homes to be searched without a warrant.
Throughout the course of the crisis, diplomatic ties between the two countries have worsened, with Colombia recalling its ambassador from Caracas, and the Venezuelan ambassador leaving Bogota shortly after. Tensions rose significantly last week after Colombia claimed that Venezuelan military jets crossed into Colombian airspace. Venezuela has denied the claim.
Maduro and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos have each separately called for meetings to discuss the border crisis, and both have expressed willingness to discuss the issue. Ecuador and Uruguay are currently working to broker a meeting.
A “humanitarian corridor” has been created which will allow Colombian children in Venezuela to attend school in Colombia. Work has also been done to facilitate the reunification of families split by the crisis.
For more information, please see:
BBC – Venezuela extends state of emergency to third border state – 16 September 2015
Reuters – Colombia’s president says Venezuela gestures could solve border spat – 16 September 2015
New Zealand Herald – Venezuela extends border crackdown to 3rd state – 17 September 2015
