Colombia, Venezuela leaders to meet Sept. 21 over border dispute
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on September 16 that he will meet his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, next week in Ecuador to discuss a border dispute that has soured relations between the South American neighbors.
Maduro's socialist government has closed several major border crossings in recent weeks and deported more than 1,500 Colombians as part of what authorities have called a crackdown on contraband and crime.
More than 16,000 Colombians have fled Venezuela since the crackdown began, according to the United Nations. Many have said they were beaten before wading rivers and crossing bridges with their belongings on their backs, sparking an international outcry and condemnation from Bogota.
The center-right Santos and Maduro, who frequently accuses Colombian rightists of seeking to topple him, have not met since the border dispute began.
"We achieved it ... The meeting will be next Monday in Quito," Maduro announced at an event marking the resumption of Venezuela's school year.
"I'm ready. I have my pencil to sign a peace deal," he said.
Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin confirmed the meeting and said the presidents of Ecuador and Uruguay would also attend.
Maduro has said the border closures are aimed at protecting the OPEC country from criminals who smuggle subsidized goods, ranging from gasoline to flour, into Colombia.
His political opponents have accused him of using Colombians as scapegoats to distract from Venezuela's economic crisis, while also seeking to whip up nationalist sentiment ahead of December parliamentary elections.