Parts of Colombia-Venezuela border closed after checkpoint attack

Colombia-Venezuela border crossing (Photo: El Tiempo)

Two cross-border bridges that connect Colombia and Venezuela were closed last night after masked gunmen attacked a border checkpoint yesterday.

The attack happened at 2:45 pm at The Palotal checkpoint, between the border municipalities of Ureña, Colombia and San Antonio, Venezuela. A Venezuelan guard reported that four masked men on motorcycles arrived at the checkpoint and shot at the guards, killing two.

The guards returned fire, and a shootout ensued. The attackers—thought to be Colombian paramilitary members—fled soon after, and Venezuelan authorities immediately initiated an operation to attempt their capture.

Venezuelan authorities attributed the attack to retaliation for the capture last Friday of 10 suspected paramilitaries in San Antonio.

According to Colombian daily El Tiempo, the Simón Bolívar bridge, which joins Villa del Rosario in San Antonio del Táchira, and Francisco de Paula Santander bridge, which connects Cúcuta with Ureña, were closed around 8:30 pm.

Neither government has indicated when the border crossings might reopen.