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Venezuelan Police Detained Colombian 'Provocators' After Border Clashes - Source

© AP Photo / Dieu Nalio CheryDemonstrators run away during a protest to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise and demanding to know how Petro Caribe funds have been used by the current and past administrations, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Much of the financial support to help Haiti rebuild after the 2010 earthquake comes from Venezuela's Petro Caribe fund, a 2005 pact that gives suppliers below-market financing for oil and is under the control of the central government.
Demonstrators run away during a protest to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise and demanding to know how Petro Caribe funds have been used by the current and past administrations, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Much of the financial support to help Haiti rebuild after the 2010 earthquake comes from Venezuela's Petro Caribe fund, a 2005 pact that gives suppliers below-market financing for oil and is under the control of the central government. - Sputnik International
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SAN ANTONIO, Venezuela (Sputnik) - Venezuelan security forces have detained a group of Colombian nationals who took part in Saturday's clashes between Venezuelan police and protesters at the border between the two countries, a source in Venezuelan police told Sputnik.

"We have detained several provocators … They were armed upon apprehension. They were shooting toward Venezuelan servicemen", the source said.

The source added that the detained Colombians were already giving testimony. They have told the police forces about the location of weapon caches under the Simon Bolivar International Bridge at the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

"Yesterday was a hard day. There have been several clashes today. Colombian bandits fired gunshots at us. But yesterday we won", a serviceman, who took part in the clashes, told Sputnik.

READ MORE: US Senator Posts Pic of Gaddafi's Murder as Pompeo Says Maduro's Days 'Numbered'

Venezuelan soldiers take part in the Zamora 200 military exercise in La Guaira - Sputnik International
Possibility of Military Intervention in Venezuela Rising Every Day - Analyst
A Sputnik correspondent reported that the situation at the border had already stabilised after the clashes, but Venezuelan Army and police were on full alert, ready to repel new possible attacks by Colombia.

Three border bridges, via which the opposition attempted to force humanitarian cargo into the country, are currently blocked.

Clashes Continued With Participation of Migrants

A Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene that clashes on the border of Venezuela and Colombia continued on Sunday with the participation of Venezuelan migrants who were trying to get back into their country.

The Venezuelan National Guard reportedly used tear gas against this group that was attempting to illegally cross the border. In response, the group threw stones at the border guards.

READ MORE: LIVE UPDATES: Situation Tense on Venezuelan Border Amid US Aid Delivery

Opposition supporters clash with Venezuela's security forces at Francisco de Paula Santander bridge on the border line between Colombia and Venezuela as seen from Cucuta, Colombia, February 23, 2019 - Sputnik International
WATCH Molotov Cocktails Thrown at US Aid Truck on Venezuelan Border
During the attempted delivery of humanitarian aid on the border with Colombia on 23 February, several trucks were burnt. According to Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS), 335 people were injured as a result of clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters on Venezuela's borders with Colombia and Brazil.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has dismissed allegations about a humanitarian crisis in the country and recalled that the international law provided for the deliveries of foreign humanitarian aid only in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Caracas has also warned that any vehicle that would illegally enter the Venezuelan territory would be considered as an offender by the country's military officers.

Colombian Consular Staff Leaves Venezuela Crossing Border By Foot

Three consular employees of the Colombian diplomatic mission together with their families left Venezuela on 24 February, crossing the border by foot, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The Colombian diplomats, accompanied by Venezuelan police, crossed the border in the settlement of San Antonio.

Freddy Bernal, appointed by the central authorities as the so-called protector of the Tachira state, said that Colombia "forced" Venezuela to expel diplomats.

"The diplomatic personnel of Colombia were ordered to leave for Bogota. We regret that we were forced to make this decision, but the country cannot tolerate such aggression, so many lies, cannot tolerate that another country has become a military base for an invasion of Venezuela", Bernal said.

People ride atop and alongside semi-trailers accompanying U.S. humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela, in Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 . - Sputnik International
US Promises More Sanctions to Venezuela, More Humanitarian Aid
According to the politician, Venezuela is the target of aggression and a coup plot led by the United States, with criminal gangs from Colombia being at the forefront of these efforts.

Amid the growing crisis around Venezuela-bound aid deliveries, the Colombian Defence Ministry, in a comment to Sputnik on 23 February, denied that US forces were moving across its country in the run-up to the deliveries.

READ MORE: Brazil Urges Int'l Community to Join 'Liberation Effort' of Venezuela — Reports

Police officers stand guard as people attend the Venezuela Aid Live concert near the Tienditas cross-border bridge between Colombia and Venezuela, in Cucuta, Colombia, February 22, 2019. - Sputnik International
LIVE UPDATES: Venezuela Tensions Rise Over US Humanitarian Aid Move
The comment comes after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro severed diplomatic relations with Colombia, accusing the latter of using its territory for "attacks against Venezuela", and ordered Colombian diplomats out in 24 hours. The decision came amid attempts of the Venezuelan opposition, led by self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, to force US-sponsored humanitarian aid into the country, including through Colombia hosting an aid collection centre. Maduro refuses to allow in such aid, calling it a "fake show" and a ploy to oust him from power.

Before rupturing the diplomatic relations, Colombia had a functioning embassy in Caracas and 15 consulates in main Venezuelan cities.

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