SAN ANTONIO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2019) The Venezuelan National Guard officers have stabilized the situation on the Simon Bolivar Bridge connecting the country with Colombia and forced the protesters to retreat by using tear gas and rubber bullets, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
On Sunday, supporters of the Venezuelan opposition tried to illegally cross into Venezuela from the Colombian side of the bridge, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the officers. The National Guard deployed additional forces to the border and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The clashes between the protesters and the security forces stopped when Colombian police formed a cordon on their side of the bridge, standing face to face with the Venezuelan National Guard.
The violence on the border first erupted on Saturday when the Venezuelan opposition tried to ensure the delivery of the so-called humanitarian aid into Venezuela from Colombia and Brazil. The National Guard tried to prevent trucks with aid from crossing the country's border without permission, and pro-aid protesters tried to help force the aid into Venezuela.�
Venezuelan legitimate President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the deliveries of US-sponsored aid as a ploy to oust him from power and called it a "show" aimed at justifying an intervention into Venezuela.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had also dismissed allegations about a humanitarian crisis in the country, recalling that international law provided for deliveries of foreign humanitarian aid only in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts.
