International
Two dead as protest turns deadly in Venezuela
Two people have been confirmed dead after violent protests broke out in the Venezuelan town of Santa Elena de Uairen, close to the border with Brazil.
Trouble started when protesters who tried to bring boxes of US-supplied aid across the border, were hit with tear gas and rounds of rubber bullets fired by troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro.
A young man, holding a wet piece of paper over a deep cut above his eyebrow after the incident said he had been hit by a rock.
“I am not going anywhere, I have to stay here,” he said.
In a related development, embattled President Nicolas Maduro has severed ties with Colombia and has ordered its diplomats to leave Venezuela.
Read also: BORDER WALL: 16 US states slam Trump with lawsuit for invoking emergency powers
Reacting to Maduro’s decision, Colombia’s Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said Bogota did not recognise the “legitimacy” of the Venezuelan leader but would withdraw its diplomatic staff from Caracas as soon as possible in order to protect their “life and integrity”.
Maduro’s severing of ties with Colombia comes days after he closed his country’s border with Brazil amid heightening political crisis and aid stand off.
The desperate leader said the border will be closed until further notice and described the move by US-backed Guaido to deploy aid caravans as a ‘provocation.
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