On 19 August, Venezuelan authorities closed part of the border with Colombia and declared a State of Exception (SoE) in some municipalities. The SoE now includes municipalities in the states of Zulia, Apure and Táchira and the border is now closed in five out of six of Colombia’s departments. The Colombian Ministry of Defence reported that, on 13 September, unauthorised Venezuelan military aircraft entered Colombian airspace. Our Embassies in Bogotá and Caracas are monitoring the situation closely.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian affairs reported that over 20,000 Colombians have left Venezuela in four weeks, over 1,500 of whom were deported. There are ongoing reports of humanitarian concerns, that many of those deported have had their houses destroyed and there have been other complaints of serious mistreatment.

I welcome the talks between the two governments’ respective Foreign Ministers, sponsored by Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on 12 September, and the announcement that President Santos and President Maduro have agreed to hold bilateral talks. I hope that a diplomatic solution can be found to end the current crisis.