Venezuela reopens border crossing with Colombia

AP  |  Ccuta (Colombia) 

Thousands crossed into on Saturday to buy and medicine after Venezuela's reopened a border that had been shut down for the past four months.

Venezuelan border guards dressed in green uniforms helped to control the crowd.

The South American nation's socialist government ordered the borders with Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and closed in February as the opposition tried to deliver and medical supplies into the country.

Most of the aid was provided largely by the United States, a key ally of who declared himself to be Venezuela's in January.

But Maduro dismissed the aid as an infringement on Venezuela's sovereignty and prohibited it from entering.

In May, the government reopened borders with and Brazil, but the the with have remained closed up until now.

With the reopening, a flood of people seized on the opportunity to enter into neighbouring Colombia and secure items that are all but unattainable in

The is now facing severe shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation that is expected to surpass 10 million per cent this year, according to a recent IMF estimate.

The chaos has been further aggravated by US sanctions on Venezuelan and has forced an estimated 5,000 people to leave the country each day, according to the United Nation's refugee agency.

On Saturday, UNHCR's was visiting another portion of the Colombia-border to learn more about the conditions faced by migrants and refugees and raise awareness about their needs.

The is scheduled to meet with aid workers and Venezuelans and tour a tent village built by the UN in the region of

UNHCR said Friday that 4 million Venezuelans, or almost 15 per cent of the population, have left the country to escape its economic and political crisis.

The agency also said the number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants rose by 1 million after November, indicating a rapid escalation as conditions deteriorated and a conflict between the government of Maduro and the opposition intensified this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sat, June 08 2019. 22:05 IST