Venezuela reopens border crossing with Colombia

Thousands are crossing into Colombia to buy food and medicine after Venezuela's embattled president reopened two border crossings that had been shut for almost four months.

Long lines of Venezuelans stood at two international bridges near the city of Cúcuta on Saturday waiting to have their documents checked by Colombian officials. Venezuelan border guards dressed in green uniforms helped to control the crowds.

The pedestrian border crossings were shut down by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in late February after his political opponents tried to use the bridges to transport several tons of food and medicine into the country.

A Venezuelan man carrying a child on his shoulders lines up to cross the Simon Bolivar international bridge into Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, June 8, 2019. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered the partial re-opening of the border that has been closed since February when he stationed containers on the bridge to block an opposition plan to deliver humanitarian aid into the country. (AP PhotoFerley Ospina)

Most of the aid was donated by the United Sates but rejected by Maduro, who said it was part of a plot to strengthen the opposition.

Venezuelans wait to cross the Simon Bolivar international bridge into Cucuta, Colombia, next to Bolivarian National Guard officers, Saturday, June 8, 2019. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered the partial re-opening of the border that has been closed since February when he stationed containers on the bridge to block an opposition plan to deliver humanitarian aid into the country. (AP PhotoFerley Ospina)

Venezuelans line up to cross the Simon Bolivar international bridge into Cucuta, Colombia, Saturday, June 8, 2019. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro ordered the partial re-opening of the border that has been closed since February when he stationed containers on the bridge to block an opposition plan to deliver humanitarian aid into the country. (AP PhotoFerley Ospina)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)