Maduro and Trump: Separated at Birth?

Nicolas Maduro.

Whenever the opportunity comes up, expect Venezuelan Pres. Nicolas Maduro to denounce U.S. billionare presidential candidate Donald Trump as a right-wing, xenophobic would-be dictator.

And, if he ever gets the chance, expect Trump to denounce Maduro as a xenophobic, left-wing, bannana republic tyrant.

Both should be careful about what they say, since they seem to be blood brothers, despite supposedly being ideological opposites.

Trump boasts that if elected president of the United States he'll expel all illegal immigrants, whom he blames for the U.S.'s crime troubles, and build a wall along the Mexican border - at Mexico's expense. Those claims are absurd, of course. However, to see an example, he can just look south to the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

Donald Trump.

As Trump does the Mexicans, Maduro blames Colombians for his country's criminal and ecnomic troubles. And, as Trump would do, Maduro has expelled Colombian immigrants and tried to shut down the border.

The result? A humanitarian crisis, accusations of rights violations - and Venezuela's economy continues suffering and its crime epidemic continues.

Trump calls himself a conservative, Maduro calls himself a leftist. But, when it comes to futile, abusive national policies, ideological opposites seem to intersect.

Trump's wet dream? Deported Colombians carry their belongings across a river from Venezuela into Colombia. (Photo: Telemundo)

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours