Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed to extend a crackdown on illegal migrants from neighboring Colombia he blames for rampant crime and widespread shortages, while authorities across the border struggled to attend to droves of returning deportees.
Tensions between the South American countries spiked to their highest level in years after Venezuela closed a major border crossing last week and declared a state of emergency in several western cities. The dramatic action was triggered by the shooting of three army officers by gunmen Maduro claimed belonged to paramilitary gangs beholden to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
