Colombian and Venezuelan Ombudsmen Unite Against COVID-19

The Ombudsman offices of both Colombia and Venezuela announced on March 17 a collaborative working project to restrain the Covid-19 from spreading in both South American nations.

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Both popular institutions confirmed their commitment to “promote fluid and constant dialogue with the purpose of watching over their common border, to prevent the virus from spreading and assume in an appropriate way the protection of people.” In a communique signed by both representatives, it is also noted that viruses presence could cause a humanitarian border crisis.

The Ombudsman's offices also committed to joining the peopel to secure their access to health services and share information in case of “any binational contingency that may be precipitated by the spread of the Covid-19 virus."

Colombia and Venezuela’s Ombudsmen, Carlos Alfonso Negret Mosquera and Alfredo Jose Ruiz Angulo respectively, encouraged join efforts in facing the virus and “mutually caring to overcome this sanitary emergency.”

This action against the Covid-19 spreading is a response to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro willing to join efforts with Colombia to protect their people. On his Twitter profile, Venezuela´s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza affirmed that this is “an important initiative of coordination between the Ombudsmen of Venezuela and Colombia, promoting the union of both brotherly peoples to jointly face the challenges of Covid-19"

The Ombudsman's Offices are constitutional institutions and government bodies, created to prevent abuses of power, political crises or abandonment of the state itself. They also must see over national's Human Rights. 

The Colombian-Venezuelan border is 2,219 kilometers long and includes a total of 22 Colombian and 20 Venezuelan cities. There are 33 positive cases in Venezuela and 75 in Colombia.