Maduro vows to extend crackdown along border

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed to extend a crackdown on smugglers and illegal migrants from neighboring Colombia whom he blames for rampant crime and widespread shortages.

Meanwhile, authorities across the border struggled to attend to droves of returning deportees.

Tensions between the South American countries spiked to their highest level in years after Venezuela closed a major border crossing last week and declared a state of emergency in several western cities.

The dramatic action was triggered by the shooting of three army officers by gunmen Maduro claimed belonged to paramilitary gangs beholden to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

While the assailants have not been caught, the incident led Maduro to order the deportation of some 1,000 Colombians living illegally in Venezuela.

Maduro said on Monday that the normally busy Simon Bolivar international bridge would remain closed, and restrictions possibly extended to other transit crossings, until Colombian authorities do their part to bring order to the porous, 2,200-kilometer border.

"Venezuela won't tolerate this anymore," said a visibly angry Maduro.

Even as Maduro stepped up his verbal attacks, authorities across the border struggled to help the Colombians driven from their homes in Venezuela.

The number deported in recent days is now more than half the 1,772 people expelled last year from Venezuela, according to Colombian statistics, and has overwhelmed a government-built shelter in the border city of Cucuta designed to provide assistance to returning nationals.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has criticized the border closing, saying it hurts communities on both sides, and vowed to spare no effort to stand up for the rights of Colombians wherever in the world they reside.

Meeting expected

Foreign ministers from the two sides were scheduled to meet on Wednesday in Cartagena, Colombia, in a bid to end the crisis.

As part of the state of emergency, Maduro deployed some 1,500 extra troops to Tachira state to search door-to-door for paramilitary members he blames for shooting the army officers while they were patrolling for smugglers.