Colombia reopens its borders with Venezuela

Although Colombia reopened on Wednesday its land and river borders with Venezuela, after a closure of more than a year due to the pandemic, on the Venezuelan side the military prevents the passage and people fleeing the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro have to do it through rivers and trails.

More than one million Venezuelans reside in Colombia, a number that may grow with the decision of President Iván Duque to grant a temporary protection status for 10 years to those fleeing a system of repression, which does not respect human rights and imposes hunger.

Without diplomatic ties, the two nations, which share a fragile border of 2,219 kilometers, offend each other. Caracas accuses Duque of trying to overthrow socialism with the support of the United States and Bogota accuses Maduro of harboring Colombian terrorists in his country.