Warlock- Posted June 9, 2019 Posted June 9, 2019 Thousands of people began crossing from Venezuela to Colombia to buy medicines and food on Saturday, hours after the disputed president Nicolás Maduro reopened a closed border crossing for almost four months. The Venezuelans made long lines at two international bridges near Cúcuta, Colombia, where they showed their identity documents to the Colombian authorities. The AP news agency reported that Venezuelan border guards wearing green uniforms helped maintain order. Maduro ordered the closure of the borders with Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Brazil and Colombia at the end of February when the government in charge of Juan Guaidó tried without success to introduce tons of humanitarian aid to the country. When announcing the reopening on Friday, Maduro said in his Twitter account that the decision would be executed this Saturday, but did not offer other details. "We are a people of peace who firmly defend our independence," the president wrote. Maduro said when he closed the borders in February that the humanitarian aid, supported by countries of the region, was a pretext to provoke a foreign intervention and its eventual overthrow. Cúcuta, the largest Colombian city along the border, has been a transit route for many of the 4 million Venezuelans who have left their country in recent years. Thousands of people cross daily to buy food and medicine. The closure caused the Venezuelans to risk crossing dangerous trails to pass from one place to another. The concise text of Maduro did not specify if the measure will be extended to the border crossings with Colombia in the states of Apure, Zulia and Amazonas. All are closed since February. The closing of the steps on February 22, was ordered by Maduro a day before Guaidó tried to enter humanitarian aid, an initiative that failed at that time. The action ended in clashes between security forces and protesters, where at least two people died.
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