President Maduro felicitates Venezuelan army personnel on the 17th anniversary of the establishment of FANB's Strategic Operational Command. Photo: Twitter/@NicolasMaduro
On Thursday, September 29, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, stated that he has given orders for the construction of new military bases in the state of Falcón. These bases, transcending the traditional model, will primarily serve to provide support to the population and improve the defense capabilities of the country.
“I have already given orders for the establishment of military bases in the area,” he said. “It is not a traditional military base. They are new bases in their concept: new in their integration with the population, in their surveillance capacity, their armed reaction capacity. New military bases in this zone that will go all the way to Cabo San Roman.”
“I have already given the orders, but as it is a beautiful area, we have to provide support to the population,” he added. “We have seen the miracle of the recovery of Adícora, the beaches and tourism.”
The president made these comments during an event held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, in Caracas, as part of the 17th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Operational Command of the FANB (CEOFANB). The event was also attended by the Strategic Operational Commander of the FANB, Major General Domingo Hernández Lárez.
President Maduro also asked the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) to work together with the Ministry of Tourism to evaluate the creation of an Economic Zone for Tourism.
He highlighted that, apart from creating a tourist corridor, the idea is also to activate a Military Economic Zone. Such a measure is necessary due to the threats and dangers posed by the Colombian Armed Terrorist and Drug Trafficking Groups (TANCOL), he explained.
In principle, this zone would cover the entire region from Adícora beach to Cabo San Román, in the east of Falcón state.
Major General Hernández Lárez, in reference to why drug traffickers attach so much importance to this zone, explained that only 25 kilometers separate the coastal region of the Venezuelan state of Falcón from the island of Aruba. A seven-motor speedboat would cover this stretch of the sea in about 10 minutes. “For example, from Cabo San Roman to Aruba, in a speedboat, the trip would take about 10 minutes,” he said.
From Aruba, which is an overseas territory of Netherlands, drug traffickers find it easy to traffic drugs to Europe.
“That is a drug trafficking corridor. We are attacking that corridor to destroy it,” President Maduro stated. “This is why the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire should be in direct coordination with the Bolivarian government, to combat drug trafficking.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/AF
