Venezuela closes border with Brazil

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Thursday he is closing the country's border with Brazil amid tensions over foreign aid deliveries to the embattled country.

Maduro announced the Brazil closure on state television and threatened to close the border with Colombia as well, according to a report by the The Associated Press.

Tensions between Venezuela and its two largest neighbors have flared since last month, as Colombia and Brazil followed the United States' lead in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate interim president.

Brazil, once seen as one of Venezuela's allies in the region, has taken a stronger stance on Maduro since the inauguration of President Jair Bolsonaro in January.

But Brazilian authorities have warned against foreign intervention in Venezuela, in part because of the Brazilian state of Roraima's energy dependence on its northern neighbor.

https://thehill.com/latino/430974-venezuela-closes-border-with-brazil