31/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU criticises closure of border between Venezuela and Colombia. On Saturday 29 August, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the closure of this border, followed by forced refoulement, puts the humanitarian situation “at risk”, as well as security and stability in the bordering region. “Further escalation must be avoided. Mutually acceptable solutions should be found in full respect of human rights”, Mogherini's spokesperson said in a press release. The previous day, Venezuela had closed a second section of its border with Colombia, “to clean it of para-militarism, crime, smuggling, kidnapping and drug trafficking”. A few days earlier, Caracas had expelled around a thousand Colombians who had set up in the country following an ambush at the border, which was attributed to Colombian paramilitary fighters and in which three soldiers and a civilian were wounded. (CG)