President Maduro used a nationally televised address late on Friday to announce the state of emergency, which is to last for 60 days and apply to several cities in the Venezuelan state of Tachira.

"We've been discovering a frightful reality about how the criminals and paramilitaries operate. I'm under the obligation to free Venezula of all this," Maduro said in the address broadcast on state television.

"This decree provides ample power to civil and military authorities to restore peace," he added.

The move came two days after three Venezuelan soldiers patrolling the largely lawless border region were wounded by gunshots. Regional officials reported that in addition to the three soldiers, a civilian was also wounded in the attack, carried out by two men on motorcycles.

President Maduro also announced that the Simon Bolivar international bridge between the two countries would remain closed until the suspects were apprehended. He also said that if necessary, the current state of emergency could be extended for a further two months.

Opposition criticism

While the president argued that the steps, including the deployment of hundreds of more soldiers to the region, was necessary to restore order, the opposition accused him of seizing the opportunity to try to deflect attention from Venezuela's economic crisis ahead of December's general election.

"The decree of a state of emergency only 109 days before crucial parliamentary elections may be the escape valve used by the government to avoid a defeat that is both imminent and certain," a statement issued by the Democratic Unity Alliance said.

The 2,219-kilometer (1,379 miles) border between the two countries is widely used by drug trafficking gangs and smugglers of cheap goods into Colombia from Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government say the authorities have arrested more than 6,000 people for smuggling over the past year.

pfd/ng (AP, Reuters, AFP)