Mendacity: Colombia Accuses Venezuela of Covid-19 Mishandling
Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum accused Venezuela on Wednesday of being “irresponsible” in handling the pandemic, to which Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza published an energetic response.
“The only irresponsible one is Colombia, for their lousy handling during the pandemic,” was the Venezuelan diplomat’s response to Blum’s attack during an intervention before Congress in the neighboring country.
Venezuelan coordination with Colombia in the border area has been difficult due to the political stand of Ivan Duque even amidst Covid-19. In addition, they refused to receive a donation of two machines for PCR tests (since Colombia only had one for the entire country).
The only irresponsible is Colombia because it’s catastrophic handling of the pandemic, their lack of testing and the humongous under counting of infected (and deaths). Venezuela detects on a daily base tens of cases of Venezuelans escaping from Colombia… https://t.co/YUuvoXAGCA
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) May 27, 2020
And since the start of the pandemic, Colombia has refused to establish coordination with Venezuela, despite sharing more than 2,200 kilometers of border. Closing of the legal border crossings at the beginning of the pandemic, little control on the informal trails, the rejection of two machines for screening tests, are part of the recent history of erratic and irresponsible decisions by the Colombian government, taken for a purely political reason: not recognizing the legitimate and constitutional government of Nicolás Maduro.
Arreaza also mentioned in his response the Colombia’s technical limitations for registering and tracking cases. They report fewer cases than they actually have, not to mention that several analyst point at an under-counting of deaths.
Out of more than fifty thousand Venezuelans returning to Venezuela from all over South America in the last two months, those who have arrived from Colombia are the leading cases of infections reported in Venezuela, reaching a figure of almost 500 cases. Today Venezuela reports 34 new cases; 30 of them came from Colombia.
The situation in Colombia has been critical in recent months, as there have been riots in prisons, looting and riots due to the lack of social aid during the health crisis. And the under-counting of infections and deaths represent a problem for neighboring countries.
Featured image: Colombia asked the IMF for a line of credit to deal with the health crisis. In the photo, private paramedics present a makeshift isolation capsule and an ambulance, in Cali, Colombia this April 7, 2020. Photo: AFP
Source URL: La Iguana TV with OT content
Translated and edited by JRE/EF
