RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A group of some 100 Brazilian citizens have been authorized to leave the Venezuelan territory after diplomatic negotiations between the two countries, local media reported on Tuesday.
According to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, the Brazilian citizens were in the Santa Elena do Uairen region, where Brazil has a consulate office, and were allowed to go back to their country from Tuesday evening on. The group includes tourists, truck drivers and citizens who had been living in Venezuela.
The Brazil-Venezuela border has been closed since Friday evening by order of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Thereafter, tension escalated in the border area.
Brazil, as well as several other countries, no longer acknowledges Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, but recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido who claimed himself interim president on Jan. 23.
On Monday, Brazil and other Lima Group members issued a joint statement at a meeting in Bogota, calling for a peaceful resolution of the Venezuelan crisis and urging international organizations such as the United Nations to exert more pressure to solve the issue.
