Aruba and Venezuela to Continue with Non-Porous Borders

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the government of Aruba has decided to extend border closure deal with Venezuela for another six weeks, which will take effect from June 8, which happens to be a Wednesday.

Evelyn Wever-Croes, the minister of Prome, declared that the Aruba government had decided to extend the border closure for another six months owing to the fear that it would be unwise to re-open given the risks.

"Aruba continues to recover from the devastation of Covid 19 years later. Because of this outbreak, many individuals have been unable to enter the country. This is one of the reasons why it has been decided to keep the border closed, in addition to the fact that many Venezuelans have left the country and are no longer coming, as a result of previous closures," he stated.

However, the document also stated that while the government of Aruba is examining the possibility of opening the maritime border, it will do so under extremely tight restrictions.

Weber-Croes added, "Unfortunately, the Venezuelan authorities don't seem to care much about this problem: We continue to work on all fronts to open the sea solely for import of products that will be accessible in the future from Aruba's perspective."

The governor said that the opening of the border for direct flights between Aruba and Venezuela will be considered at a later stage.