"Venezuela's problems are made in Venezuela," said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday in relation to a border crisis including thousand deported Colombians as a result of the state of emergency decreed last Friday by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

"Venezuela's problems are made in Venezuela; they are not made in Colombia or elsewhere in the world," Santos said during a forum hosted by Andes University in Bogotá, also attended by former presidents of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla; México, Vicente Fox, and Chile, Ricardo Lagos.

"Shortage in stores, in supermarkets, is worse than in Kabul or Syria," Santos added. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis continued on Venezuela-Colombia border due to the deportation, since last Friday, of more than one thousand Colombians residing in Venezuela, AFP reported.

Last Friday, a 60-day state of emergency entered into force in a sector of the border of both countries, following the attack by unknown persons where Venezuelan military officers and a civilian were injured in San Antonio del Táchira during an anti-smuggling operation.

"I respect the Venezuelan economic model, and they should respect ours," Santos added on Wednesday.

Considered by the United Nations as the second country with the highest murder rate in the world, Venezuela goes through an economic crisis, including high inflation rates, devaluation of the local currency and scarcity of two thirds of bare essentials –most of which have regulated prices. Concomitantly, oil prices have plummeted, making an effect on a country largely dependent on oil.

The state of emergency that could be extended to additional 60 days prohibits the use of weapons and enables the authorities to conduct searches and tap private communications without the need of a court order.

El Universal