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Post by livinginmedellin on Aug 12, 2016 6:27:36 GMT -5
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro announced that the frontier would be opened on Saturday. During the first stage only pedestrians will be allowed to cross in five places along the 2,200km (1,370 miles) border. Mr Maduro shut the border on security grounds. Many Colombians were expelled, and bilateral trade has since fallen. The two presidents said that the five crossings would be open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 local time (13:00-01:00 GMT). President Maduro said improvements in bilateral relations and security had enabled Venezuela and Colombia to take a number of decisions, including the reopening of the border. He said the measures would be "well received by our peoples", Telesur television network reports. Meanwhile, President Santos was quoted as saying that "it will be a provisional opening as we learn and adjust our decisions every step of the way". Colombia and Venezuela also agreed to work towards the full reopening of the border, saying they needed first to reach separate agreements on security, commerce and energy. Mr Maduro ordered the border to be closed in August 2015 after former Colombian paramilitaries attacked a Venezuelan military patrol and wounded three soldiers. In July, Venezuela twice opened the border to allow people to cross over to shop for basic foods and medicines. Nearly 200,000 people entered Colombia. Many basic goods are in short supply in Venezuela because of a severe economic crisis in the country. Venezuela has suffered severe shortages for months as a result of the falling price of oil which is the country's prime source of income. See: www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37054686
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Post by scumbuster on Aug 12, 2016 8:04:49 GMT -5
This should be a real boost to the local economies with all the shoppers it will bring from Venezuela.
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Post by suba on Aug 12, 2016 8:50:53 GMT -5
"Venezuela has suffered severe shortages for months as a result of the falling price of oil which is the country's prime source of income.""
Nothing like left wing media when it comes to ignoring reality.
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Post by jabberwocky on Aug 12, 2016 9:23:49 GMT -5
business opportunity - load up a couple of trucks with toilet paper head to the border and make a killing.
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Post by scumbuster on Aug 12, 2016 9:48:14 GMT -5
business opportunity - load up a couple of trucks with toilet paper head to the border and make a killing. Bread, meat, prescription drugs. The list goes on and on.
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Post by colombiana on Aug 12, 2016 15:08:19 GMT -5
It is good they are opening the border as those store shelves in Venezuela are pretty bare in all the photos I see in the Internet. Plus it will help the economies in border towns in Colombia. But I hope all those Venezuelans don't get the idea to just stay in Colombia.
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Post by livinginmedellin on Aug 13, 2016 13:23:06 GMT -5
Thousands of Venezuelans were welcomed to Colombia by a military band early on Saturday morning as the two countries' borders were officially reopened after being closed by Venezuela a year ago. Some people had traveled across Venezuela to queue overnight hoping to cross to buy food and other basics that are in short supply in Venezuela, which is steeped in an economic crisis. "I came with my family to do some shopping because we can't find anything to eat," said Wilmary Salcedo, a 17-year-old engineering student who had traveled some 500 miles from the central city of Maracay hoping for rice, sugar and cooking oil. Venezuela's stores lack the most basic foods and medicines. Queues of hundreds and even thousands of people are common, and riots and looting are a daily occurrence. Venezuela's President Maduro abruptly closed the border last August hoping, he said, to protect his country from smugglers and paramilitaries. Critics saw the action as a stunt to shift attention from worsening domestic problems. Maduro announced the reopening on Thursday, alongside his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos. "We're interested in a new beginning in economic and commercial relations with all of Colombia's productive sectors," Maduro said on Thursday. Santos said it would be a "gradual" reopening. Five border crossings will be open to pedestrians during the day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (1100 to 0200 GMT). A representative from Colombia's foreign ministry said 5,000 people had crossed in the first two hours. The border has for years been a hotbed of smuggling of everything from price-controlled toothpaste and pasta to illegal drugs and weapons. Maduro blamed Colombians, among others, for the country's crisis and the closure strained relations between the South American neighbors. Many people continued to cross the border over the past year using dirt paths, shallow river crossings and by paying officials. See: www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-colombia-border-idUSKCN10O0N9
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