Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (right) shakes hands with his Colombian counterpart Iván Velásquez during a meeting in 2022. Photo: Colombian Defense Ministry/file photo.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino held a meeting with his Colombian counterpart, Iván Velásquez Gómez, in the city of San Cristóbal, Táchira state, Venezuela, where they discussed the security crisis caused by the resurgence of armed conflict in the Colombian Catatumbo region of Norte de Santander Department, bordering Venezuela.
At the meeting held on Friday, January 24, Minister Padrino López reiterated Venezuela’s complete willingness to collaborate with the Colombian authorities, increasing the levels of communication, and the proposal of a three-month plan to help Colombia re-establish peace in the Catatumbo region, based on previous successful experiences.
“Venezuela does not serve, nor will it ever serve, as a platform for illegal armed groups, whatever their nature, ideology or nationality,” the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) announced in a statement. “It is worth highlighting the enormous efforts made by the Bolivarian government in the fight against all kinds of criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, paramilitarism, illegal mining, smuggling, and other transnational crimes.”
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The FANB maintains a permanent deployment of military units throughout Venezuela, including the Colombia-Venezuela border axis, to combat armed groups. It also condemns “the disinformation campaign orchestrated by sectors with dark interests” that falsely try to implicate the Venezuelan armed forces with these criminal organizations.
“In accordance with the principles of solidarity and fraternity of the Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy, Venezuela continues to provide humanitarian aid to more than 40,000 Colombian citizens displaced by the clashes in the Catatumbo region,” the statement continued.
The FANB further announced that it will maintain constant communication with the Colombian authorities, with a view to contribute to the solution of the conflict, a fact that demonstrates Venezuela’s commitment to peace in Colombia.
Venezuela and Colombia Develop Joint Strategy to Combat Armed Groups in Border Zones
In order to provide humanitarian assistance to those fleeing violence, the Venezuelan government established a humanitarian corridor on the border with Colombia, in the municipality of Jesús María Semprún, Zulia state, near the border with Catatumbo and Tibú.
Catatumbo is one of the regions in Colombia that have historically been marked by armed clashes. Since January 16, the people of the region are suffering from a resurgence of clashes between the armed guerrilla organization National Liberation Army (ELN) and the 33rd Front of the dissidents of the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), leading to the displacement of thousands of Colombians to Venezuela.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
