Colombian guerillas fleeing Venezuela after US strike, says officer
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Colombian soldiers patrolling a bridge near the border with Venezuela in Cucuta, Colombia, on Jan 6, after the fall of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
PHOTO: AFP
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CUCUTA, Colombia - Colombian guerilla commanders who allegedly operated in Venezuela are fleeing, following the US military operation in Caracas that ousted leader Nicolas Maduro
Bogota has long suspected that leaders of powerful groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), which controls cocaine trafficking routes along the border, and factions of the now-defunct FARC guerilla army live in Venezuela.
Security experts say the ELN has rear bases within Venezuela that were tolerated by Maduro, who denied it.
A Colombian armed forces officer said on condition of anonymity that he had received reports of guerilla leaders trying to cross the border back home after Washington’s weekend raid.
The presence of guerilla kingpins along the border constitutes a threat to Colombia’s security after Maduro’s fall, according to the Defence Ministry in Bogota.
When the ousted Venezuelan leader was taken to New York to face justice
On Jan 6, Colombian soldiers were seen in the border city of Cucuta.
US President Donald Trump had warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro – whom he has accused, without providing evidence, of being a drug lord – to “watch his a**”.
In response, Mr Petro – a former urban guerilla – said he was willing to “take up arms” for “the homeland”. AFP
