Colombia land, river borders to remain closed until mid-January

Despite the frontier's continued closure, migrants began returning to Colombia through clandestine crossings after the quarantine's end. The agency's head urged people not to use unauthorized crossings, which are sometimes controlled by armed groups, and said humanitarian emergencies were exempt from the closure.

Colombia will keep its land and river borders closed until Jan. 16, its migration agency said on Monday, in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus despite illegal crossings. The Andean country, which closed its borders in March, is the top destination for migrants fleeing long-running social and economic crisis in neighboring Venezuela.

Some 100,000 Venezuelans returned home amid a more than five-month national quarantine that cut many off from work. Despite the frontier's continued closure, migrants began returning to Colombia through clandestine crossings after the quarantine's end.

The agency's head urged people not to use unauthorized crossings, which are sometimes controlled by armed groups, and said humanitarian emergencies were exempt from the closure. "We ask people not to risk their lives entering the country in an irregular manner. If you need to enter Colombia and it's a case of force majeure, we invite you to explain your case to a migration official at the border," said agency director Juan Francisco Espinosa in a statement.

Sea borders, also closed since March, will open from Tuesday, the statement said, adding the agency is looking into how to safely re-open land and river borders with neighboring countries' governments. International flights were also shuttered in March, but resumed in September.

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