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Venezuela extends state of emergency along border with Colombia

Xinhua, September 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency in three municipalities of the western state of Zulia on Monday evening, officially adding these towns to the list of closed border crossings with Colombia.

According to the government's official gazette, the measure was declared in the municipalities of La Guajira, Mara, and Almirante Padilla upon order of President Nicolas Maduro. The gazette stated that this region presented "extraordinary circumstances affecting (the country's) socio-economic order and social peace."

Maduro also ordered the deployment of 3,000 troops to the area to maintain order and protect the local Wayuu indigenous community.

The state of emergency will be maintained for 60 days, according to the decree, and will be accompanied by an extension of the Operation for the Liberation and Protection of the People (OLP), which seeks to fight back against criminal elements.

To date, 13 municipalities along the country's border with Colombia are under a state of emergency.

Maduro has, for the last few weeks, insisted on the need to essentially rebuild the Colombia-Venezuela frontier, and has told Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to crack down on paramilitary groups and smuggling rings undermining security along their border.

Also on Monday, Maduro stated he would accept mediation by the governments of Argentina and Brazil as part of the talks between Bogota and Caracas to resolve the border crisis. Endit