Venezuelans pour into Colombia

Thousands cross over for food, aid as 2 key bridges reopen

Venezuelans show their IDs on Saturday as they wait to cross the reopened Simon Bolivar International Bridge into Cucuta, Colombia.
Venezuelans show their IDs on Saturday as they wait to cross the reopened Simon Bolivar International Bridge into Cucuta, Colombia.

CUCUTA, Colombia -- Thousands of people crossed into Colombia on Saturday to buy food and medicine after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reopened a border between the countries that had been shut down for four months.

Long lines of Venezuelans, some carrying children on their shoulders, stood at two international bridges near the city of Cucuta waiting to have their documents checked by Colombian officials. Venezuelan border guards dressed in green uniforms helped control the crowd.

The Venezuelan government ordered the borders with Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Brazil and Colombia closed in February as the opposition tried to deliver food and medical supplies into the country.

Most of the aid was provided by the United States, a key ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who in January declared himself to be Venezuela's rightful president. But Maduro dismissed the aid as an infringement on Venezuela's sovereignty and prohibited it from entering.

In May, the government reopened borders with Aruba and Brazil, but the Simon Bolivar international Bridge and the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge with Colombia had remained closed until now.

With the reopening, a flood of people seized on the opportunity to enter into the neighboring country and secure items that are all but unattainable in Venezuela.

The once-wealthy oil nation is now facing severe shortages of basic goods, as well as hyperinflation that is expected to surpass 10 million percent this year, according to a recent International Monetary Fund estimate. The chaos has been further aggravated by U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and has forced an estimated 5,000 people to leave the country each day, according to the United Nation's refugee agency.

On Saturday, the agency's special envoy Angelina Jolie was visiting another part of the Colombia-Venezuela border to learn more about the conditions faced by migrants and refugees and raise awareness about their needs. The Hollywood actress is scheduled to meet with aid workers and Venezuelans and tour a tent village built by the U.N. in the region of La Guajira.

Before heading to the U.N.'s border camp, Jolie met with Colombia President Ivan Duque, who has pledged to keep his country's border with Venezuela open despite the large influx of migrants.

Duque said that during the meeting with Jolie and U.N. refugee agency officials, theydiscussed steps that could be taken to facilitate the integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia, including legislation to grant Colombian nationality to thousands of children of Venezuelan migrants who have been born in Colombia and are currently stateless.

Duque said that granting these children citizenship would be a "humanitarian way to give them the opportunities and benefits" that will enable them to emerge out of poverty.

Colombia's National Civil Registry counts at least 3,290 children born since December 2017 who have been unable to obtain citizenship. Rights groups say the numbers could be as high as 25,000.

The U.N. refugee agency said Friday that 4 million Venezuelans, or almost 15% 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 opposition intensified this year.

A Section on 06/09/2019

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