Venezuela: Maduro sends in troops to tighten border control with Colombia

The Venezuelan government reinforced its military presence on the border with Colombia in the western state of Tachira, Tuesday, continuing security and police operations aimed at eliminating alleged paramilitary groups operating in the area. A group of 180 soldiers arrived at an air base in the state aboard Hercules aircrafts. The soldiers are part of some 3,000 troops that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the deployment of in the second security zone in the area on Saturday. The servicemen will be placed in several of the region’s municipalities including Puerto Ayacucho, Garcia de Hevia, and Lobatera. Maduro ordered the temporary closure of major border crossings with Colombia on August 21, with Venezualen authorities deporting 1,200 of an estimated 5 million Columbians living in Venezuela. The decision was taken after Venezuelan military personnel were attacked amid an anti-smuggling operation which the president attributed to Colombian paramilitaries. The crisis deepened further last Thursday when both countries called their ambassadors for consultations making allegations of human rights violations. Colombia and Venezuela share a border of 2,219 km (1379 mi) in which both denounced the activities of irregular groups who profit from the smuggling of fuel and other products heavily subsidised by the Venezuelan government.