More than 4 in 10 Colombians fear that their country's border crisis with Venezuela may eventually lead to a war between the two South American neighbors, a poll found.

The survey, conducted between Sept. 7 and Sept. 12, shows the dispute has stoked significant fears among Colombians, EFE reported based on a poll released by Cifras y Conceptos. Twenty percent of those surveyed said they feared the government of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would continue to expel Colombian citizens, and 19 percent worry that the nations may again break off diplomatic relations.

President Juan Manuel Santos' handling of the crisis, meanwhile, received a split review: 51 percent of Colombian feels that their leader has shows a "good" or "very good" command of the situation, while 47 percent opine differently. The survey, which was based on 3,848 personal interviews, had a margin of error of between 2.6 and 6.7 percentage points.

Maduro has blamed many of recession-hit Venezuela's problems on Colombians, and the socialist leader has maintained key checkpoints between the countries closed for the last couple of weeks, Reuters recalled. The president announced on Wednesday he had ordered an extension of the "state of emergency" that allowed him to implement those measures, the BBC noted.

The embattled leader also extended the crackdown to another 10 municipalities on the border with Colombia -- three in Apure and seven in Zulia state. Caracas claims the measures are aimed at fighting crime near the border, where smugglers and guerrilla groups are active, the network said. Under the Venezuelan constitution adopted under Maduro's late predecessor, Hugo Chávez, a state of emergency can be declared if the security of the country, its citizens or its institutions are at risk.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Venezuela has deported 1,400 Colombians, and as many as 18,000 Colombians have left the country voluntarily, Reuters detailed. In many cases, immigrants who had been living in Venezuela for years were made to leave their homes in border towns and had to cross rivers and bridges with their belongings on their backs.