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Brazil has re-opened its northern border with Venezuela to those fleeing economic and political turmoil there, after briefly closing it.

The Supreme Court overturned an earlier order to shut the frontier until Brazil could put in place the right conditions to receive the huge influx of people.

Authorities in the state of Roraima in Brazil's Amazon region say some 500 Venezuelans cross the border every day.

The border was re-opened to Venezuelan migrants after a few hours on Monday.

"It is not justified to take the easy path to 'close the doors' because of difficulties in hosting refugees," Supreme Court justice Rosa Weber said in her ruling issued shortly before midnight.

The temporary order by a lower court judge stated that the border would remain open to Brazilians and other non-Venezuelans.

It was also to be open for Venezuelans returning north out of Brazil. Sea and air borders were unaffected by the ruling.

Many thousands of Venezuelans have fled into neighbouring countries, mainly Colombia and Brazil, in search of better economic conditions over the past three years.

An apparent assassination attempt on Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro at the weekend has raised tensions in the country even further.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Many Venezuelans who have crossed into Brazil struggle to find accommodation

Most who have crossed the border to Brazil in recent months are living in appalling conditions on the streets of the Boa Vista, the impoverished state capital of Roraima, in the heart of the Amazon region.

For months, authorities in Roraima have been calling for the border to be shut. They say that public services have collapsed and that migration has brought about a sharp rise in crime.

Brazil's central government had opposed any border closure, saying that ordinary Venezuelans were suffering the consequences of a humanitarian crisis and that Brazil must continue to help. </s> Brazil reopened its northern border with Venezuela on Tuesday after a federal judge annulled a ruling that barred immigrants from entering the country.

Border entry points were opened again at 10 am following a ruling by an appellate court revoking the measure adopted Sunday by federal judge Helder Girao Barreto. </s> Brazil has re-opened its border to Venezuelans fleeing economic and political turmoil, just hours after a judge ordered the frontier to be closed amid a growing regional migration crisis.

Within 48 hours, three different courts issued contradictory rulings on the border, as Brazilian authorities struggle to deal with the growing humanitarian emergency in the north-western state of Roraima.

According to the UN, thousands of Venezuelans are crossing into neighbouring countries every day to escape rampant crime and political violence, a cratering economy and severe shortages of food and medicines.

Nearly 57,000 Venezuelans have requested refugee status or residency in Brazil since 2015 and 11,000 have become residents, according to figures released in June by the Federal Police.

Tens of thousands have settled in Roraima, where the influx has overwhelmed social services.

Around 3,000 to 4,000 Venezuelans are sleeping on the streets of Pacaraima, a town of 12,000 people, said the Rev Jesus Bobadilla, a Catholic priest in the town whose church gives breakfasts to thousands of Venezuelans five days a week.

“The situation is very confused. They come hungry – and motivated by hunger,” he said.



The legal battle over the border began in April, when Roraima’s governor, Suely Campos, launched a suit at Brazil’s supreme court requesting the closure of the border. 



On 1 August, Campos issued a decree ordering Venezuelans to show their passports before accessing health and security services – and police to deport any migrants who committed crimes.

Her decree was challenged by local prosecutors and the public defence office, but in agreeing their request, a federal judge also ordered the border shut on Monday. That ruling was in turn overruled on Tuesday, and the border was opened once again.

Adding to the confusion, a supreme court judge rejected Campos’s request late on Monday night – but did not revoke the order to close the border.

Bobadilla said Campos’s campaign to close the border was politically motivated: she is standing for re-election in October, and the migration crisis has fed growing animosity towards incomers in Roraima, Brazil’s most sparsely-populated state. 



“There is a lot of xenophobia,” said Bobadilla.

His church serves breakfasts to up to 1,800 Venezuelans a day, holds classes for indigenous Venezuelan children and offers help with documentation. “We help as we can,” he said.

But shelters across the state are overcrowded. Socorro Lopes, the coordinator of a shelter for indigenous migrants in Pacaraima, said that it has capacity for 250 but sleeps 400. “It is not ideal, but we have a structure,” she said.

“The town has big structural problems in education, health and social assistance,” she said. “People have stopped believing that things will improve until the flow [of migrants] is reduced.”



Ten shelters in Roraima’s capital Boa Vista house around 600 Venezuelans each – and all are overcrowded, said Ricardo Baumgartner, local coordinator for Catholic non-profit group Fraternidade (Fraternity), which runs three shelters. He said the influx of migrants had increased crime and made it harder to access health services.

“A part of population does not accept this,” he said. “Another part wants to welcome them.”



“The Brazilian authorities have made significant efforts to respond to the intense flow of Venezuelans fleeing a humanitarian crisis and political persecution,” HRW said in a statement. “They can’t turn their backs now.”



Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, argued that the order to seal the border was largely symbolic, given that much of Brazil’s extensive land borders are not even policed.

“There is no way Brazil can close the border,” he said. “Many migrants frequently go into and out of Brazil without passing the regular check points.”



Countries across South America have struggled to cope with the region’s worst migration criss in decades. More than a million Venezuelans have headed west to Colombia, where the outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, signed a decree last week granting residency and work permits to 440,000 undocumented migrants. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — One of the main border crossings between Brazil and Venezuela has reopened after a legal fight that kept it shuttered it for nearly a day.

It’s part of a tug-of-war between a state government overwhelmed by hundreds of Venezuelans arriving every day and the federal government and higher courts, which insist the border must stay open.

The crossing in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima was opened Tuesday after a lower court decision was overturned.

The border was closed Monday after Judge Helder Girao Barreto ruled it should be closed until a program to relocate Venezuelan refugees can keep pace with daily arrivals. However, that decision was reversed by an appellate court.

Over the last year, tens of thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic hardships, have taken refuge in Brazil. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO — One of the main border crossings between Brazil and Venezuela has reopened after a legal fight that kept it shuttered it for nearly a day.

It's part of a tug-of-war between a state government overwhelmed by hundreds of Venezuelans arriving every day and the federal government and higher courts, which insist the border must stay open.

The crossing in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima was opened Tuesday after a lower court decision was overturned.

The border was closed Monday after Judge Helder Girao Barreto ruled it should be closed until a program to relocate Venezuelan refugees can keep pace with daily arrivals. However, that decision was reversed by an appellate court.

Over the last year, tens of thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic hardships, have taken refuge in Brazil. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - One of the main border crossings between Brazil and Venezuela has reopened after a legal fight that kept it shuttered it for nearly a day.

It's part of a tug-of-war between a state government overwhelmed by hundreds of Venezuelans arriving every day and the federal government and higher courts, which insist the border must stay open.

The crossing in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima was opened Tuesday after a lower court decision was overturned.

The border was closed Monday after Judge Helder Girao Barreto ruled it should be closed until a program to relocate Venezuelan refugees can keep pace with daily arrivals. However, that decision was reversed by an appellate court.

Over the last year, tens of thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic hardships, have taken refuge in Brazil. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO — One of the main border crossings between Brazil and Venezuela has reopened after a legal fight that kept it shuttered it for nearly a day.

It’s part of a tug-of-war between a state government overwhelmed by hundreds of Venezuelans arriving every day and the federal government and higher courts, which insist the border must stay open.

The crossing in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima was opened Tuesday after a lower court decision was overturned.

The border was closed Monday after Judge Helder Girao Barreto ruled it should be closed until a program to relocate Venezuelan refugees can keep pace with daily arrivals. However, that decision was reversed by an appellate court.

Over the last year, tens of thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic hardships, have taken refuge in Brazil. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian authorities on Friday began moving humanitarian aid to its northern border with Venezuela even though the international crossing has been closed.

Brazil’s air force sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista, the main city in the northern state of Roraima. They planned to transport via trucks the goods, which included rice, powered milk and first aid kits, to Pacaraima, the city that borders Venezuela.

Humanitarian aid to Venezuela has become a flashpoint in the struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by over 50 nations, including Brazil, as the country’s president.

Guaido has announced plans to bring in aid on Saturday via Brazil, Colombia and the Caribbean island of Curacao.

In anticipation of the planned aid delivery on Saturday, on Thursday Maduro closed Brazil’s border crossing. The maritime border with Curacao had also been shut.

Brazilian officials stressed Friday they would not engage in a military confrontation with oil-rich Venezuela, which supplies much of Roraima’s energy.

“We have to wait and see how things develop,” Augusto Heleno, minister of institutional security, told Globo News. “What’s clear is that Brazil will not take any aggressive action.”

Still, desperately needed aid sitting on the border was sure to raise tensions in Pacaraima, a dusty city with many dirt roads. In recent years, Pacaraima has received thousands of Venezuelans crossing the border in search of food and medicine. While most Venezuelans continue to other Brazilian cities, the most destitute stay in Pacaraima because they have no money for bus fare.

Instead, they sleep on the sides of roads, look for odd jobs and try to hitch hike to Boa Vista, about three hours drive south. Many are emaciated and have health problems.

On Friday, many Venezuelans could be seen crossing the border illegally away from the checkpoint.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO — One of the main border crossings between Brazil and Venezuela has reopened after a legal fight that kept it shuttered it for nearly a day.

It’s part of a tug-of-war between a state government overwhelmed by hundreds of Venezuelans arriving every day and the federal government and higher courts, which insist the border must stay open.

The crossing in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima was opened Tuesday after a lower court decision was overturned.

The border was closed Monday after Judge Helder Girao Barreto ruled it should be closed until a program to relocate Venezuelan refugees can keep pace with daily arrivals. However, that decision was reversed by an appellate court.

Over the last year, tens of thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic hardships, have taken refuge in Brazil.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Brazil re-opens its northern border with Venezuela which was briefly closed in response to refugees from Venezuela.