Caracas shake-up could intensify violence in Catatumbo in Colombia, an area rich with coca crops, cocaine laboratories and a porous border with Venezuela

Alberto’s eyes shifted nervously. His chin trembled.

His slender hands fumbled with a manila folder containing his family’s documents, which he was waiting to present to staff of the Human Rights Ombudsman in the north-eastern Colombian city of Cúcuta, in the hope of receiving humanitarian aid.

Gustavo Petro makes remark after Trump threatens military action similar to Venezuela

• ‘Naked imperialism’: how Trump intervention in Venezuela is a return to form for the US

Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the volume of their war of words, further raising tensions between the two countries after US forces attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, the US president threatened similar military action against Colombia, saying the South American country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

Many shops closed after rush to buy essentials, as exiles held muted celebrations amid uncertainty about future

At the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, which spans the Táchira River, foot and vehicle traffic flowed as normal through the main border crossing between Venezuela and Colombia.

But a day after the extraordinary US capture and rendition of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, there was an air of uncertainty over what comes next.