Colombia and Venezuela, two of South America’s biggest economic powers, have clashed over a variety of issues throughout the years. Last month, their relationship took a turn for the worst when unknown gunmen shot and wounded three Venezuelan border police looking for smugglers.
Immediately, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro fired accusations of an “economic war” fueled by Colombian smugglers in Venezuela and proceeded to close the border between the two nations on August 19th, as well as order the arrest and deportation of over 1400 Colombians residing in Venezuela. Since then, over 17,000 Colombians living in Venezuela have fled back to their homeland voluntarily, leaving their homes and family behind.
Maduro’s accusations arise from the fact that recent drops in food prices have allowed “contrabandistas” to buy cheap goods in Venezuela and sell them for a profit in Colombia, therefore leading the government to label smugglers as the main cause of Venezuela’s recent food shortage. Though smuggling has always been a reality in the border between both nations, most analysts believe that Maduro is simply using the smugglers as an excuse for his failed socialist policies, which along with a steep decrease in the price of oil (Venezuela’s main export), have made producing food unprofitable for farmers and have left the government with no money to import edibles.
To make matters worse, the closing of the border has left thousands of Venezuelans and Colombians stranded on the wrong side of the barbed wire separating the two countries, leaving them with no way of returning home. This has led people from both countries to demand that the border be reopened and that the hundreds of Colombians captive in Venezuela be released. To date, there has been no progress negotiating a border opening. Although matters only seem to be getting worse, with both countries having recalled their ambassadors in Bogota and Caracas, recent attempts to mediate the crisis by Uruguay and Brazil leave a glimmer of hope for all Colombians and Venezuelans hoping to see a quick end to the conflict between their homelands.
By Pascual Gonzalez