Venezuela has extended indefinitely the closure of its border with Colombia, declaring a 60-day state of emergency in parts of the frontier as tensions run high in the region.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the decision in a national broadcast on Friday, saying the move was “part of measures to restore order, peace, tranquility and justice.”

Maduro said the emergency state in five municipalities of the northwestern Venezuelan state of Tachira would help boost the fight against paramilitary groups and smugglers along the Venezuelan border region with Colombia.

“Let’s have a deep reorganization of the economic, political, social, cultural” order along the border, he said, adding that a contingent of 1,500 Venezuelan soldiers arrived in the border area to join the 500 already stationed there.

Maduro recently ordered a 72-hour closure of the border after three Venezuelan soldiers were attacked by gunmen while performing an anti-smuggling operation in Tachira’s city of San Antonio on Wednesday.

The 2,200-kilometer (1,400-mile) border between the two South American countries is rife with guerrilla and smuggling activities.