Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photographer: Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro declared a state of emergency in a zone bordering Colombia after an attack on Venezuelan soldiers conducting an anti-smuggling operation.
An additional 1,500 soldiers have been deployed in the affected part of Tachira state, Maduro said in a television broadcast on Friday evening. Existing closures of border crossings in the area will be extended indefinitely, he said.
The move to ramp up government forces came after three soldiers were injured in a shootout on Wednesday. Rampant smuggling is fueled by Venezuela’s price controlsand subsidies on gasoline and food which offer opportunities for selling the goods at a higher price across the border.
“The constitution and the law give me the power to declare this state of exception for 60 days, extendable for 60 days,” Maduro said, using a term that refers to a suspension of some constitutional rights.
One of the busiest border crossings is closed, with the state of emergency extending across five municipalities.
An exodus of goods has worsened widespread product shortages in Venezuela, with Maduro previously alleging a campaign of “economic war” by foes of his socialist government ahead of legislative elections scheduled for December. His critics say that the nation’s economic woes, including the world’s highest inflation rate, are self-inflicted.
The president said he wants to meet with his Colombian counterpart -- Juan Manuel Santos -- and to reschedule a planned Sept. 14 meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers to an earlier date.
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