Colombia Extend Border Closing With Venezuela for Three Months

Colombia will keep its borders with Venezuela close at least until September 1, the authorities reported on Tuesday. This, amid ongoing social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Foreign Ministry said that humanitarian cases, transport, merchandise, and the departure of foreign nationals are exempt from the measure, but they have to abide by the existing COVID-19 protocols.

"Those who develop the exceptions established in this article must comply with the biosecurity protocols established by the Ministry of Health for the control of covid-19 and must comply with the instructions that, to avoid its propagation, are adopted or issued by the different ministries and entities of the national and territorial order," it is explained in the decree.

Colombia shares over 2.219km of borders with Venezuela. On May 24, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced unilateral plans by his Colombian counterpart to reopen the borders and warned that the decision poses a vast infection risk since Venezuela controls the second COVID-19 pandemic wave while new deadly variants could enter.