Santos vows to defend Colombians caught in crisis with Venezuela

(Adds Colombian president’s comments throughout in response to Venezuelan deportation of Colombian citizens and other measures.)

Bogota, Aug 24 (EFE).- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Monday that his government will defend its citizens “with firmness” after hundreds were deported from Venezuela, while explaining that “such firmness requires the wisdom and prudence of diplomacy.”

“We don’t lack and never will lack the firmness to defend all our fellow citizens, wherever their security is threatened or their fundamental rights are violated,” Santos said in a communique issued by the Casa de Nariño presidential palace.

In highlighting the importance of diplomacy, the head of state noted that “confrontation only serves political, individual and electoral interests” and does not “lead to a satisfactory solution.”

“More than any other consideration, our priority is to offer all possible humanitarian aid and shield all our compatriots with guarantees,” Santos said.

Official sources confirmed Monday that at least 751 Colombians, of whom 139 are minors, were deported back to their own country from Venezuela, after President Nicolas Maduro closed a strip of the border and ordered a state of exception.

Santos said in the communique that the 751 Colombians have been cared for in a comprehensive way,” and that “514 were taken to shelters set up especially for them” while the others have been sent “to their homes elsewhere in the country.”

The president announced that the foreign ministers of Colombia, Maria Angela Holguin, and of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, will meet Wednesday to “discuss personally” the problems caused by “this unilateral measure of the neighboring country’s government,” and expressed his “objection to reports of the abuse suffered by Colombians in Venezuela.”

Colombians who have been deported to the border city of Cucuta since last Saturday have complained that men, women and children have been abused by Venezuelan cops in the city of San Antonio and its surrounding area, and in many cases, their houses have been painted with a mark as a sign they will be demolished.

“We also repeat to Venezuela our total readiness to collaborate and coordinate the necessary actions in the fight against contraband and the organized crime groups that control it,” Santos said, adding that Colombians are “the first to be interested in taking effective action against that scourge.”

Last Wednesday, Maduro ordered the border crossing between Cucuta and San Antonio closed because of an attack against the Venezuelan military, which left three soldiers and one civilian wounded.

Two days later, the Venezuelan president declared a state of exception in Tachira state for 60 days. EFE

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Category: Daily Witness, National