Venezuela, Colombia agree to "progressively" reopen border

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos have agreed to "progressively" reopen their shared border, a top official reported on Tuesday.


"The two presidents agreed to progressively reopen the border ... under strict vigilance and security," Venezuela's minister of communication and information, Ernesto Villegas, said via Twitter.

For years, the border area has been rife with smugglers taking advantage of Venezuela's currency and price controls to run illegal currency exchange operations, and buy cheap basic goods and gasoline to resell in Colombia for many times more.

The troubled border has been closed on several occasions, most recently last week, as Venezuela introduced new banknotes and clamped down on illegal currency exchange operations along the border.
 [Xinhua/china]
21/12/16
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