MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Yesterday Colombia, now Venezuela closes border with Brazil

Venezuela first closed its border with Colombia and now with Brazil to avoid money trafficking

The government of President Nicolas Maduro government closed the border with Brazil for 72 hours for the same reason it had taken the same measure with Colombia: money smuggling, Brazilian local authorities and residents of southern Venezuela who routinely cross to Brazil where they can make transactions in bolivars confirmed.

 The objective of this measure is to prevent “mafias” from taking out the country's 100-bolivar bills to “choke the economy”, and re-introduce them to make the exchange, Maduro said. The 100-bolivar bills are to be withdrawn from circulation and become worthless af of Wednesday. People have to turn in all their 100-bolivar notes to banks to get the new higher denomination bills or coins.

Maduro also spoke with Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez abut Venezuela's situation withing Mercosur. Vazquez told Maduro that he agrees that Venezuela will continue to participate in Mercosur meetings with voice, but no voting rights while the sanction imposed on the Caribbean country by the four founding bloc members (Argentina,Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) are in force for failing to adhere to economic, environmental and human rights standsards that are mandatory to all Mercosur countries.

Foreign ministers of Mercosur countries are to meet in Buenos Aires Wednesday and it is still unclear whether Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez has a right to be present, although she said she would be there to fight the “coup d'etat” against her country.