Colombia prepares for refugee influx after US strikes on Venezuela

Cucuta, Colombia — Colombia is bracing for a imaginable exile situation pursuing US strikes successful Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro connected Saturday.

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez announced connected Sunday that helium was sending 30,000 soldiers to the borderline with Venezuela to enactment up security, and the state has besides enacted exigency measures to enactment refugees.

At the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, which spans the Tachira River separating Colombia and Venezuela adjacent the borderline metropolis of Cucuta, conveyance and ft postulation flowed usually connected Monday contempt an accrued subject presence, which included 3 parked Colombian M1117 armoured information vehicles.

But with United States President Donald Trump threatening much attacks if recently sworn-in interim person Delcy Rodriguez does not “behave”, an uneasy calm has settled implicit the borderline region, and Colombia is preparing for the worst.

Sanchez said information forces had been “activated” to forestall immoderate retaliation from equipped groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and Segunda Marquetalia, oregon Second Marquetalia — a dissident faction of the leftist radical FARC, that person operated with virtual impunity successful Venezuela for years.

Colombia’s equipped groups person historically taken vantage of the rugged 1,367-mile (2,200km) borderline with Venezuela to postulation drugs and question refuge from the Colombian army. With Maduro’s ouster, Colombian quality has signalled the imaginable instrumentality of equipped radical leaders arsenic their information successful Venezuela could beryllium jeopardised.

A Venezuelan National Guard subordinate stands defender connected the Venezuelan broadside of the Simon Bolivar International Bridge [Jim Glade/Al Jazeera]

Meanwhile, the Colombian authorities has acceptable up 5 exigency bid posts successful cities adjacent the borderline to woody with an expected summation successful refugees pursuing the US attacks connected Venezuela.

“These [command posts] let america to permanently coordinate humanitarian, information and territorial power actions, with nonstop authorities beingness successful the astir delicate areas,” said Sanchez.

President Gustavo Petro besides dispatched Minister of Equality and Equity Juan Carlos Florian to Cucuta to code humanitarian concerns for refugees.

“We’ve implemented thing that we telephone a ‘border plan’,” Florian told Al Jazeera during an interrogation connected Monday successful Cucuta. The program coordinates assorted elements of the nationalist authorities successful “the lawsuit of a imaginable migratory situation owed to the United States subject involution successful our member country, Venezuela”.

The curate said helium met section officials to instrumentality banal of disposable resources for refugees, including nutrient and healthcare supplies, to amended recognize areas wherever officials deficiency reserves.

With enactment from the United Nations International Organization for Migration, the curate said, the authorities is besides activating 17 ​​centres crossed the state tasked with helping immigrants and refugees with nutrient supplies, entree to education, grooming and employment, unit prevention, and more.

Although determination has been nary uptick successful borderline crossings yet, the curate said, the Colombian authorities expects that up to 1.7 cardinal radical could get successful the country. Colombia is already location to 3 cardinal Venezuelan refugees — the azygous largest chunk of the 8 cardinal Venezuelans who person near the country.

Humanitarian organisations, too, are preparing for a imaginable influx of refugees.

Juan Carlos Torres, manager of catastrophe hazard absorption for the Colombian Red Cross successful Northern Santander, of which Cucuta is the capital, told Al Jazeera that the nonprofit has activated an exigency effect program successful anticipation of a imaginable exile crisis.

Using an archetypal 88,000 Swiss francs (about $111,000) from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the organisation is boosting its contiguous capableness to supply basal humanitarian assistance to refugees adjacent the border.

La Margarita outpost for Colombia Red Cross adjacent the borderline with Venezuela [Jim Glade/Al Jazeera]

“Yesterday we were astatine the [Simon Bolivar Bridge] doing preventative measures; ambulance services, transport, protection, what the quality beings need,” said Torres. “Right present the concern is ‘normal’ but implicit the people of days”, things could change, helium suggested.

If conditions stabilise successful Venezuela, refugees mightiness beryllium consenting to instrumentality to the country, helium said. But if they bash not, much radical mightiness privation to permission Venezuela, Torres said.

Walking limb successful limb with a friend, 50-year-old Mary Esperaza crossed into Colombia from Venezuela implicit the Simon Bolivar Bridge connected Monday afternoon. Rodriguez, who is from Cucuta but lives crossed the stream successful Venezuela, said she was not definite if determination would beryllium different migration situation soon.

“We’re waiting to spot what happens,” she said. “Apparently, everything is calm, but we don’t cognize what volition hap tomorrow.”