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Venezuela puts more border areas under state of emergency

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Venezuela on Wednesday put 10 more municipalities bordering with Colombia under the state of emergency.

Military action in four new zones, encompassing the 10 municipalities in the western states of Zulia and Apure were also formalized, according to the government's official gazette.

Since Aug. 21, there have been border closures and military operations in the western state of Tachira, where a state of emergency was first declared by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The border crisis erupted on Aug. 19 when three Venezuelan army officers were wounded by suspected paramilitary gunmen operating in Colombia.

After the border incident, Venezuela closed major border crossing points and deported over 1,000 Colombians, with another 5,000 leaving voluntarily, in a bid to fight crime and a thriving cross-border smuggling trade, according to the Venezuelan government.

In September, Maduro ordered all passages to Colombia via the border community in Zulia to be suspended. At the same time, he put a restriction on border crossings at the Limon River, Zulia.

Venezuela's Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that the presidents of Venezuela and Colombia have agreed to meet to discuss the border problems. Endi