Strong police deployment by Colombian authorities to suppress voting rights of Colombians residents of Venezuela. Photo: Twitter/@CanalTRO.
Caracas, May 29, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)âColombian authorities prevented Colombian voters residing in Venezuela from crossing the border to vote in yesterday’s elections. The border was closed and thousands of potential voters were not allowed to cross the SimĂłn BolĂvar International Bridge connecting San Antonio, Venezuela, with CĂșcuta in Colombia.
Due to the negligence of the Colombian government and political extremism, diplomatic and consular relations with Venezuela remain severed, forcing thousands of Colombians living in Venezuela to travel long distances to exercise their right to vote. Colombia’s embassy and consulates in Venezuela are closed.
Information issued by Migration Colombia stated that those citizens who registered to vote in the special voting center deployed for that purpose could not enter Colombia due to the closure of the Colombian border enforced since Saturday. On Sunday morning, however, border traffic was flowing normally until about 8:30 a.m., when the border was closed without any explanation from Colombian authorities.
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#ElGranSantanderElige | Centenares de colombianos que quieren ingresar a su paĂs para votar, permanecen represados en la mitad del puente internacional SimĂłn BolĂvar.
MigraciĂłn Colombia les prohĂbe el paso, debido al cierre de los pasos limĂtrofes. pic.twitter.com/V30TiERD6y— Canal TRO (@CanalTRO) May 29, 2022
“Only those people who have registered with the consulates and who appear in the consular census records who live in Venezuela are authorized to enter,” reported Colombia Migration, regarding the border between San Antonio del TĂĄchira and CĂșcuta. These statements were published in a video shared by Telesur correspondent Madelein GarcĂa through her Twitter account. Likewise, the representative of the migration agency specified that Colombians registered to vote in the other four special voting centers operating in other cities could not cross the border.
https://twitter.com/madeleintlSUR/status/1530961928994148353
The atmosphere in the middle of the bridge became hostile due to the refusal of the Colombian authorities to admit the voters who had been waiting for their turn since the early morning hours. In order to prevent violence on the bridge, the security forces of both countries remained on the alert. Some media outlets reported that members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) had beaten a protester.
A security device was deployed in the SimĂłn BolĂvar International Bridge by the GNB, that tried to work in coordination with Colombian authorities. However, tensions rose to the point where Colombians wanting to reach their country charged GNB members, and were finally forbidden entry into their country of origin by Colombian authorities.
“We continue to monitor the border between San Antonio del TĂĄchira and CĂșcuta,” wrote Madelein Garcia. “Colombia is in the middle of the electoral process, any information is sensitive. It is important to remember that what happened earlier today was reported by the media as if Venezuela was the one preventing Colombians from voting.”
https://twitter.com/madeleintlSUR/status/1530963198278524929
In another tweet, the Telesur journalist attached a video of the tense situation at the bridge, and wrote: “In this video, the journalist narrates that the GNB would not let Colombians who wanted to vote in CĂșcuta pass, while in this same report the journalist says that the officials of Colombia’s registry had not arrived to open the process. Colombia has its borders closed.”
GarcĂa added: “Now look at what happened when the Colombians charged at the GNB. The same journalist from the previous video says that the Colombian police did not let them pass. It was 11 a.m. and the officials had not arrived to open the process and only voters were allowed to pass.”
https://twitter.com/madeleintlSUR/status/1530964435313082368
The evidence presented by the Telesur journalist stands in stark contrast with the reports of some mainstream media that tried to make people believe that the Venezuelan government was restricting the right of Colombians to vote. In reality, all evidence indicates that the Colombian government was the one promoting suppression of Colombian voters.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/DD/SL
