President Petro: ‘Colombia Will Not Lend its Territory to Any Invasion’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro emphasized Tuesday that Colombian territory will not be used to invade any nation in the region, amid rising tensions triggered by the US military deployment in the Caribbean, which Venezuela considers a threat.

“Colombia will not lend its territory to any invasion by any neighboring country, nor any of its personnel, unless it is stateless and genocidal. How can we allow an invasion of Venezuela?” he declared to applause at the inauguration of the Amazon Center for International Police Cooperation (CCPI) in the Brazilian city of Manaus.

Petro stated that an internal conflict, like the one in Venezuela, can only be resolved through dialogue between the parties. “So are they going to tell us it can be resolved with missiles, like in Palestine? What’s that in the homeland of Bolívar, the Liberator?” he asked.

Along the same lines, he advocated for a new round of talks between the political actors of his neighboring country. “Political dialogue must be reestablished in Venezuela because the Venezuelan people must unite, because the threat of invasion is present,” he asserted.

Accompanied by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Ecuadorian Vice President María José Pinto, he warned of the dangers of maintaining regional silence regarding the US military deployment in the southern Caribbean, following the White House’s announcement of an airstrike on a small boat allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela.

“Bombs will fall on us in Bogotá, Manaus, and Rio de Janeiro,” said Petro, who again rejected the disproportionate military attack on a motorboat. The incident, about which the US has not yet provided details, reportedly left 11 dead.

Pentagon Official: US Boat Strike in the Caribbean Was a Criminal Attack on Civilians

High voltage
In August, international media reported on a US military deployment in the southern Caribbean, supposedly to combat drug cartels. Similarly, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi doubled the reward to $50 million for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accused by the US of leading a “drug cartel.”

This has been denounced by Caracas as maneuvers aimed at forcing a political change and seizing the South American country’s natural resources.

To counter the US deployment, Maduro called for voluntary enlistment in the Bolivarian Militia for the defense of the country’s sovereignty. So far, 8.2 million people have signed up.

For his part, US President Donald Trump threatened to shoot down Venezuelan military aircraft if they put the US “in a dangerous position.”

(RT)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SH