Colombia-Venezuela border crisis continues

Furthermore, Ramirez called for the Colombian authorities to be given access to cross the border to pick up belongings and documents that were not returned to deportees by the Venezuelan National Guard.

Venezuela closed its last major crossing with Colombia on Monday as the country’s presidents expressed the desire to enter discussions on the border crisis.

Rights groups say that has led to abuses by security forces, as some 1,400 Colombians have been deported and another 15,000 have fled, according to the United Nations figures.

The embattled leader’s announcement came in the midst of the ongoing border crisis with Colombia, during which his government has expelled thousands of undocumented Colombian immigrants, many of whom had resided in Venezuela for years.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro introduced the deal Tuesday in a speech in China that was broadcast on Venezuelan state tv, the Related Press.

Venezuela has long used its oil wealth to subsidize basic goods like rice and toilet paper, which are sold at about a tenth of the price they command in Colombia.

Tensions flared up in the week leading up to the recall of ambassadors.

Maduro says he’s being unfairly targeted by U.S.-backed conservatives in Colombia eager to topple his 16-year-old revolution while turning a blind eye to decades of political and drug-fueled violence in Colombia that has made Venezuela a haven for so many of its neighbor’s poor. “I reiterate my disposition to meet President Maduro so that through serious and respectful dialogue we can resolve the border problems”, he said. He also said that he would accept a role for Brazil and Argentina to help mediate any talks.

They are due to meet with Venezuelan foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas on Saturday.

As Venezuela’s cash reserves dwindle along with the price of oil, headlines remind us that oil-related news is politically charged ahead of Venezuela’s December elections, and USA refineries are still processing heavy Venezuelan crude despite all the rhetoric.

With Venezuela’s economy in recession, oil revenues plunging, crime soaring and consumers facing chronic shortages of basic goods, Maduro’s approval rating has sunk in recent months.