FARC Rejects Arrival of US Troops in Colombia and Warns of New Aggression Against Venezuela

BOGOTÁ (Sputnik) – The Colombian party, the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, rejected the announcement of the arrival of United States troops in Colombia in June, which, they assured, is part of a strategy of aggression against Venezuela, but it was denied by the Colombian Government itself.

“The alarming news is received of the implementation of a plan to destabilize peace on the continent that has been started … No one doubts that this situation is developed as part of the strategy of military aggression of the government of (Donald ) Trump against Venezuela,” the FARC National Political Council said in a statement.

The political party, which emerged after the demobilization of the former guerrillas, stresses that “the Colombian government irresponsibly places the country as the beachhead for the destabilizing strategy against the neighboring country and the continent,” for which reason it makes a call for “unity of the peoples” to guarantee the peace of the region.

On May 27, in a joint statement with the Colombian Ministry of Defense, the US Embassy in Colombia announced that in June a US brigade prepared to fight drug trafficking will arrive in Colombia and will remain for several months in the so-called Future Zones, places in the territory that have been affected by violence.

“The SFAB (Security Force Assistance) is a specialized unit of the United States Army formed to advise and assist operations in allied nations. Its mission in Colombia will begin in early June and will last for several months,” said the Embassy in its letter.

In this regard, the FARC summoned the democratic and peace-promoting forces on Colombia to mobilize “against this pretense of destabilization and violence in the region,” and stressed that it cannot be accepted “that immobility caused by confinement due to the pandemic” be used to impose “a war that will bring terrible consequences.”

For his part, Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said that this is an elite group of a consultative and technical nature to improve effectiveness in the fight against drug trafficking, and that it “only” will provide technical and advisory support, forgetting about the multiple operations launched from Colombian soil to destabilize Venezuela following US orders.

“At no time will there be transit of foreign troops, nor will they participate in military operations. Military operations are carried out exclusively by Colombian troops,” Trujillo said in statements released by his office.

The brigade, according to the US Embassy in Colombia, will support “the most powerful anti-drug operation”, which was announced on April 1 by Donald Trump, for which reason the Colombian Navy sent ships and planes near the coasts of Venezuela after the US government accused President Nicolás Maduro of “narcoterrorism”, also forgetting that the US is the main consumer of drugs in the world and Colombia is the main producer and also, that almost 80% of Colombian drug trafficking occurs in Pacific ocean waters.

Featured image: © REUTERS / Rodi Said

Source URL: Mundo Sputnik with OT content

Translated and edited by JRE/EF