Sao Paulo — Brazil will send troops to its border with Venezuela on Monday after residents of the Brazilian border town of Pacaraima drove out Venezuelan immigrants from their improvised camps, amid growing regional tension. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have crossed into Brazil over the past three years as they seek to escape the economic, political and social crisis gripping their country. The latest show of tension began early on Saturday, hours after a local merchant was robbed and severely beaten in an incident blamed on Venezuelan suspects, in Pacaraima, where about 1,000 immigrants are living on the street. Dozens of locals then attacked the two main immigrant makeshift camps and burned their belongings, leading Venezuelans to cross the border back into Venezuela. Shots were fired, stores were closed and debris littered the streets. "It was terrible, they burned the tents and everything that was inside," said Carol Marcano, a Venezuelan who works in Boa Vista and was on th...
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