Venezuela has severed relations with its neighbor Colombia and has expelled all diplomats from its embassy, President Nicolas Maduro has declared, throughout a rally in Caracas.
Maduro had earlier closed the border with Colombia within the run-up to Saturday’s makes an attempt by the opposition to ship vehicles of ‘humanitarian aid’ from Colombia, in defiance of Caracas. Part of the border the place a pressured crossing would possibly happen has been the scene of a tense confrontation between opposition activists and safety forces all day.
Addressing a crowd of 1000’s of supporters, Maduro condemned his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque for meddling in Venezuela’s inside affairs.
“Patience is exhausted, I am unable to bear it anymore, we won’t maintain placing up with Colombian territory getting used for assaults towards Venezuela. For that purpose, I’ve determined to interrupt all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia’s fascist authorities,” Maduro stated, including that the employees on the Colombian embassy has 24 hours to depart his nation.
The Venezuelan authorities sees the tried supply as a publicity stunt meant to bolster the opposition and to doubtlessly set off a significant rebellion within the nation. There are additionally fears that the convoy could also be used to smuggle weapons to arm the opposition.