Confrontation between Colombia and Venezuela escalates as cross-border migration continues
The crisis triggered by the closure of a stretch of Venezuela’s border with Colombia by Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro – invoking the need to act against smuggling and ‘paramilitarism’ – has worsened. Deportations of Colombians and the flight of many more in fear have continued to increase, and Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has failed to get a hearing in the Organization of American States (OAS). While Santos seeks other avenues, Maduro has been raising the stakes.
On 27 August President Maduro stated that he would not reopen the border until such time as Colombia banned the sale of goods smuggled in from Venezuela and took steps to prevent the currency exchange houses in Cúcuta from ‘attacking’ Venezuela’s currency. That same day President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he was recalling the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela ‘for consultations’.