Three members of the Venezuelan national guard deserted their posts early on Saturday, Colombia’s migration agency said, ahead of a planned opposition-led effort to bring aid into the economically devastated county.
The soldiers have asked for help from the agency, it said. The opposition and countries supporting the aid caravan have repeatedly called on the Venezuelan military to defy orders by President Nicolas Maduro to bar its entry.
Colombian migration authorities said they received their request for help at the Simon Bolivar bridge connecting the two countries.
There was no immediate word on the guardsmen’s rank. But a video provided by Colombian authorities show the men wading through a crowd with their assault rifles and pistols held above their heads in a sign of surrender.
The young soldiers were then ordered to lay face down on the ground as migration officials urge onlookers to keep a safe distance.
Elsewhere, Venezuela’s National Guard fired tear gas on residents clearing a barricaded border bridge.
The tensions flared at dawn Saturday at the blocked entrance of the Francisco de Paula Santander bridge on the Venezuelan border town of Urena.
A man throws rocks toward Venezuelan national guards on Saturday in the town of Urena after President Nicolas Maduro’s government ordered the temporary closure of a nearby border crossing. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)
Venezuelan officials have ordered the border with Colombia closed after already shutting down crossings from Brazil and the island of Curacao, other points of entry for the aid.
But the residents in Urena have defied government orders and began removing yellow metal barricades and barbed wire.
Hundreds of Venezuelans camped out overnight near the bridge in Cucuta, on the Colombian side.
Oriana Gutierrez said she travelled 14 hours to attend Friday’s concert organized by billionaire Richard Branson and wanted to stay through the following day to help bring in aid.
Early Saturday some Venezuelans were singing their national anthem while others held hands in a prayer circle and asked God to protect their country.
Maduro has refused to accept the food and medical supplies donated largely by the United States, saying it’s part of a larger plot to unseat him from power.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month, has vowed to bring humanitarian aid across into Venezuela from Colombia over objections from Maduro.
Venezuelans frustrated over their nation’s crippling food and medical shortages are expected to join opposition leaders Saturday in a potentially risky push to usher in nearly 200 tonnes of international aid from Colombia, despite the closure of three bridges on the border.