The Colombian government has militarized its border with Venezuela and announced the deployment of 30,000 soldiers after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was forcibly seized in a U.S. operation on January 3.

A CGTN stringer in the Colombian border city of Cucuta filmed a flow of people crossing the Simón Bolívar International Bridge which connects the two countries, and an increasing number of immigrants leaving Venezuela amid uncertainty over the regional situation.

Colombian citizen Ana Maria Gomez said that due to concern of the potential escalation, people in Colombia are afraid to go out too much. "People take shelter, they stock up on food, because we don't know when things will happen or what will happen," she said.