Colombian President says troops deployed to Venezuela border after US attacks

BOGOTA - Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Jan 3 he ordered the deployment of military forces to the Venezuelan border, following US strikes that, according to US President Donald Trump,

ended with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

.

Mr Petro described Washington’s actions as an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America and said they would result in a humanitarian crisis

While proposing that the situation could be resolved through “dialogue”, the leftist President said on social media platform X that he had also ordered the “deployment of the security forces” to the Venezuelan border.

Mr Petro made no mention of Mr Maduro’s capture, despite the Venezuelan leader being one of his government’s closest allies in the region.

Earlier, the Colombian leader had requested an “immediate” meeting of the Organization of American States and the UN to “establish the international legality of the aggression” by the United States.

Colombia holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2026, which led to its call for the body to be convened.

Mr Petro has been a vocal critic of military deployments ordered by Mr Trump in the Caribbean to fight alleged drug trafficking vessels.

Mr Petro added in other posts to social media that he had put measures in place to “preserve stability at the border”.

An AFP news reporter observed normal conditions at the main crossing between the two countries.

Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said the security forces had activated “all capacities” to prevent “any attempted terrorist attack” at the border by illegal groups such as the National Liberation Army.

As part of his anti-drug strategy, Mr Trump recently said he would not rule out striking drug-production laboratories in Colombia, which Mr Petro condemned as a threat of invasion at the time. AFP