Colombian borders reopen with Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil
The Colombian government has reopened the land, river and sea borders with Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, which had been closed for more than a year due to COVID-19; however, the border with Venezuela will remain closed.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry announced the reopening on Wednesday in a press release: "The maritime, land and river border crossings with the Republic of Panama, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Peru and the Federative Republic of Brazil are opened as of zero hours (00:00 a.m.) on 19 May 2021", excluding Venezuela.
The decision has been justified in "the interest of advancing measures that help the economic reactivation of border areas". The communiqué also highlights the need to strengthen the integration process with neighbouring countries.
"To this end, Colombia has offered the four States referred to above to maintain the joint work that will allow the adoption, in an expeditious manner, of the necessary measures and protocols for a prompt return to the full transit of people, goods and vehicles, always taking into account the recommendations and times suggested by the neighbouring countries," the Colombian Foreign Ministry explained in the press release.
The Venezuelan government broke off relations with Caracas after the Colombian president, Iván Duque, recognised Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela, over Nicolás Maduro. As a result, there are currently no diplomatic or trade relations between the two countries despite the 2,200-kilometre long border that keeps them united.
The proximity of the two countries makes Colombia the main destination for Venezuelan emigrants seeking to escape the crisis in their country, which to date has allowed more than 1.7 million Venezuelans to reside in Colombia, although this figure could increase with the Duque government's decision to grant Venezuelans temporary protection status for 10 years, according to El Nacional newspaper.
Tensions between the two South American countries are increasing due to the exchange of accusations, in which Colombia accuses Nicolás Maduro's government of giving asylum to leaders of FARC dissidents and the National Liberation Army linked to drug trafficking. For its part, Caracas accuses President Iván Duque of trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government, supported by the United States.
This situation is compounded by the decision of the Colombian president, who ruled out in mid-April the possibility of reopening the border with Venezuela due to the high levels of COVID-19 infection.
Following the Colombian government's decision to open its land and sea crossings, Panama responded hours later with the decision to close its borders with Bogotá temporarily, "the national government has decided to temporarily suspend the entry into the national territory, by land, sea and river routes, of any person coming from the border with the Republic of Colombia", explains a press release from the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Panamanian Foreign Ministry considers that this opening "puts at risk the significant progress achieved" in relation to COVID-19 and stresses its concern for "border security and the control of migratory flows".
Panamanian authorities are facing an increase in the number of migrants arriving on their territory from Colombia, intending to continue their journey to the US. Between January and April, 11,370 migrants crossed into Panama according to official figures provided to Efe by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Cases of COVID-19 in Panama reflect nearly 6,305 deaths, although epidemiological control has now reduced the number of deaths per day. Faced with this problem, Panama agreed with Colombia to manage adequate border control to control the passage of irregular migrants, in order to continue controlling the pandemic, according to El Comercio.
In the midst of the pandemic, the South American country closed its sea and land crossings in March 2020, ten days after the first case of the coronavirus was reported in the country of 50 million people, says La Prensa.
The epidemiological situation remains tense, the Colombian country has 3,161,124 confirmed cases, of which there are 106,631 active cases, with a total of 82,743 deaths due to COVID-19, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection as of 19 March 2021.
Colombia is the sixth country in Latin America and the Caribbean with the most cases and the fourth in number of deaths in proportion to its population, according to a count by the French agency AFP, as reported by DW.
Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.
