Caracas, Sep 16 (Prensa Latina) President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, activated four new special zones in Zulia and Apure to combat the paramilitaries, drug trafficking and extraction smuggling today affecting territories bordering Colombia.
The measure seeks to provide a new safe, and prosperous border working with a new foundation structure as the basis for building a productive economic zone in these regions, the president said this Tuesday in announcing the initiative.

In the case of Zulia (northwest), zone 4 is added, comprising the municipalities Rosario de Perijá, La Cañada de Urdaneta, Jesús Enrique Lozada and Machiques de Perijá along with zone 5, in the territories of Jesús Maria Semprun, Catatumbo and Colón.

These are in addition to those included in Zone 3, in the administrative entity formed last September 7 in indigenous municipalities Guajira, Mara and Almirante Padillla.

Meanwhile, in Apure (southwest) state, zone 6 will cover the territory of the municipality Páez, while zone 7 will comprise Rómulo Gallegos and Peter Camejo.

With these 10 new areas added there are 23 under the constitutional state of exception in place since last August 20 in the Venezuelan territories bordering with Colombia.

Other municipalities are Ureña, Junín, Libertador, Independencia, Rafael Urdaneta, Bolívar, Lobatera, Ayacucho, García de Hevia and Pan, in Táchira (west)

President Maduro, reiterated the call for dialogue to his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos, to address social and economic issues that led to the application of special measures in border areas with that country.

During his weekly television program, Maduro said that these problems are the result of decades of neglecting those territories and that it is not going to be solved with media operations, so he also urged Santos to set a plan together regarding the matter.

On Tuesday, Colombian President visited Paraguachón in the Colombian-Venezuelan border in the state of Zulia, where he said he saw progress for an early meeting with the Venezuelan President.