CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday his government had broken relations with Colombia and would expel some Colombian diplomatic staff after Colombia assisted the opposition’s efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country.

“Patience is exhausted, I can’t bare it anymore, we can’t keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks against Venezuela. For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia’s fascist government,” Maduro said in a speech.

He said the ambassador and consular staff would have to leave Venezuela within 24 hours.</s>CARACAS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Satuday his government had broken relations with Colombia and would expel some Colombian diplomatic staff after Colombia assisted the opposition's efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country.

"Patience is exhausted, I can't bare it anymore, we can't keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks against Venezuela. For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia's fascist government," Maduro said in a speech.

He said the ambassador and consular staff would have to leave Venezuela within 24 hours.</s>Maduro breaks off all relations with Colombia

Caracas, Feb 23 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that he is breaking off all political and diplomatic ties with the Colombian government and gave Colombian officials 24 hours to get out of the country.



“My patience is exhausted, I can no longer bear it that the territory of Colombia lends itself to aggression against Venezuela, so I have decided to break off all political and diplomatic relations with the fascist government of Colombia,” Maduro told the hundreds of his supporters who were out marching “in defense of the revolution.”



He cried out that Colombian “ambassadors and consuls must leave Venezuela within 24 hours,” and added, “oligarchy, get out…out of here, oligarchy, enough is enough.”



Maduro said it has become obvious “how Colombian territory is being used by the government of Mr. (Ivan) Duque” to attack him, a reference to the help the neighboring country has provided so that the humanitarian aid stored there can be transported into Venezuela.



“Never before has a Colombian president fallen so low or has worked against Venezuela the way Mr. Ivan Duque has done, never before, never – it’s like he’s throwing stones,” Maduro said. “He has the face of a little angel but I’d like to grab his cheeks and say…you’re the devil, Ivan Duque.”



For several months humanitarian aid has been stored at the Colombian border city of Cucuta to meet the needs of Venezuela, a country that for some five years has suffered severe shortages of food and medicines.



On Friday the “Venezuela Aid Live” concert was held in Cucuta with the participation of 30 local and international artists to hail the arrival of humanitarian aid. Opposition leader Juan Guaido made an appearance at the event, a month after proclaiming himself the interim president of Venezuela.



Guaido is staying in Cucuta and has been received and accompanied not only by Duque, but also by the presidents of Chile, Sebastian Piñera, and of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez, as well as by Secretary General Luis Almagro of the Organization of American States (OAS).

 Maduro called him “the devil in person.”



The Venezuelan president also said this Saturday that under no circumstances will he ever “bow down” to those people and asked the military, the militia and his supporters to defend him if ever he is ousted.



“My life is dedicated solely to the defense of the homeland, and under no circumstances will I ever bow down. I will never surrender, I will always defend our homeland with my own life if it is necessary to defend it,” the president told the thousands of supporters who poured into the streets of Caracas “to defend the revolution.”



In his statement he asked the military, militia and supporters to come out in a “civil-military union…if something happens to me someday.”</s>Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro talks to supporters during a rally in support of the government in Caracas, Venezuela February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday his government had broken relations with Colombia and would expel some Colombian diplomatic staff after Colombia assisted the opposition’s efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country.

“Patience is exhausted, I can’t bare it anymore, we can’t keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks against Venezuela. For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia’s fascist government,” Maduro said in a speech.

He said the ambassador and consular staff would have to leave Venezuela within 24 hours.</s>Maduro spoke Saturday as opposition leader Juan Guaido launched an effort to bring international humanitarian aid into Venezuela from across the border in Cucuta, Colombia.

"Patience is exhausted, I can't bare it anymore, we can't keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks against Venezuela. For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia's fascist government," Maduro said in a speech.

He said the ambassador and consular staff would have to leave Venezuela within 24 hours.</s>Authorities in Colombia carried out a controlled explosion on Friday to demolish the former fortress of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in Medellin.

A crowd of 1,600 people including some families of Escobar victims, watched as just before midday a loud detonation was heard and the eight stories of white concrete crumbled to the ground, leaving behind a cloud of smoke that lingered for several minutes.

In its place will be erected a memorial to the victims of Escobar’s reign of terror that ended when he was killed by police in 1993.

While some elements of society criticized the move, claiming it was erasing history, authorities insisted they were merely “transforming” the narrative to focus on the victims rather than the perpetrator.

The demolition of the ostentatious building, which had once drawn crowds of curious sightseers, “signifies the defeat of the culture of illegality,” said Colombia President Ivan Duque.

“It signifies that history won’t be written from the perpetrator’s perspective.”

Duque made a flying visit to the demolition site before heading to Cucuta, on the border with Venezuela, to attend a concert organized by British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson to raise money for humanitarian aid for Venezuelans.

Cucuta is the site of a collection center where tons of mostly US aid has been piling up for two weeks ahead of an attempt by Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido to bring it into the country, despite the border being blockaded by the military.

Escobar may be dead but Colombia remains the biggest producer of cocaine in the world, much of which is bound for the US.</s>Tweet with a location

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more</s>Authorities in Colombia carried out a controlled explosion on Friday to demolish the former fortress of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in Medellin.

A crowd of 1,600 people including some families of Escobar victims, watched as just before midday a loud detonation was heard and the eight stories of white concrete crumbled to the ground, leaving behind a cloud of smoke that lingered for several minutes.

In its place will be erected a memorial to the victims of Escobar's reign of terror that ended when he was killed by police in 1993.

While some elements of society criticized the move, claiming it was erasing history, authorities insisted they were merely "transforming" the narrative to focus on the victims rather than the perpetrator.

The demolition of the ostentatious building, which had once drawn crowds of curious sightseers, "signifies the defeat of the culture of illegality," said Colombia President Ivan Duque.

"It signifies that history won't be written from the perpetrator's perspective."

Duque made a flying visit to the demolition site before heading to Cucuta, on the border with Venezuela, to attend a concert organized by British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson to raise money for humanitarian aid for Venezuelans.

Cucuta is the site of a collection center where tons of mostly U.S. aid has been piling up for two weeks ahead of an attempt by Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido to bring it into the country, despite the border being blockaded by the military.

Escobar may be dead but Colombia remains the biggest producer of cocaine in the world, much of which is bound for the U.S.</s>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that he is breaking off all political and diplomatic ties with the Colombian government and gave Colombian officials 24 hours to get out of the country.

"My patience is exhausted, I can no longer bear it that the territory of Colombia lends itself to aggression against Venezuela, so I have decided to break off all political and diplomatic relations with the fascist government of Colombia," Maduro told the hundreds of his supporters who were out marching "in defense of the revolution."</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday his government had broken relations with Colombia and would expel some Colombian diplomatic staff after Colombia assisted the opposition’s efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country.

“Patience is exhausted, I can’t bare it anymore, we can’t keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks against Venezuela. For that reason, I have decided to break all political and diplomatic relations with Colombia’s fascist government,” Maduro said in a speech.

He said the ambassador and consular staff would have to leave Venezuela within 24 hours.
Venezuela breaks diplomatic relations with Colombia and expels all of Colombia's diplomats; however, Colombia maintains diplomatic relations with Guaidó's ambassador, Humberto Calderón Berti.