Venezuelan president extends border closure with Colombia, asks UNASUR to mediate

Venezuela will extend the partial closure of its border with Colombia to four more municipalities in the western state of Tachira and deploy more troops to crack down on paramilitary groups, the Venezuelan president said Friday.

Speaking at a rally in the capital city of Caracas, Nicolas Maduro not only ordered to extend the partial closure, but also requested the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) organize a commission to visit the zone.

"Starting at 5 a.m. (0930 GMT) on Saturday we'll expand the closure of the border and I have also decided to deploy 3,000 more troops of the armed forces to search for these paramilitary groups even under the stones," he said.

Maduro said he was open to meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to discuss the issue wherever and whenever his counterpart chooses.

"I propose that a South American commission of the truth comes to our nation and visits Colombia to examine the border situation and its problems such as drug trafficking, paramilitary groups and the economic war against our people," Maduro said.

He rejected Santos' attitude Wednesday after the foreign ministers of both nations had met in Cartagena, Colombia. For his part, Santos had traveled to the border town of Cucuta and demanded Maduro's administration stop deporting Colombians.

"The agreements of the Cartagena meeting were destroyed that same day by President Santos with his disrespectful remarks to our government and people," he said.

The week-long spat erupted when Maduro shut a major border crossing after three army officers were shot by alleged Colombian paramilitary gangs.

He also said the closure was to combat rampant smuggling and paramilitary activities near Colombia and declared a state of emergency in six western cities.

Venezuelan officials have deported more than 1,000 Colombian migrants and another 5,000 have left voluntarily, with some carrying all of their belongings across a border river.

Late Thursday, both nations recalled their respective ambassadors, indicating that the diplomatic and political conflict could last for a few more weeks.

On Friday, thousands of Venezuelan government supporters marched to the presidential palace in support of the new measures, which they said were not aimed at Colombian migrants themselves. Endi