In a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations, UN, António Guterres, Venezuela requests the support of the organization to establish a direct channel with Colombia on the border issue, and “to achieve a minimum of coordination between the public forces” to guarantee peace in the border area between the two nations.
This was reported on Tuesday by Chancellor Jorge Arreaza, who added that a second communication was presented to the UN Security Council, headed at this time by Dinh Quy Dang, permanent representative of Vietnam, so that in the next quarterly meeting of the body, which will address the issue of Colombia, includes an investigation into the attacks by Colombian armed groups against the Venezuelan population:
“We are asking the Security Council to take advantage of the meeting to be held on Colombia to assess compliance with the peace accords (…) and to discuss the need to initiate an investigation into these attacks against Venezuela.
We ask to be investigated the Colombian violence against Venezuela, the existence of these groups, the absence of border control, the impact that this war has on the Venezuelan economy”, he explained.
At a press conference held in the “Simón Bolívar” Press Room with national and international media, he announced that Venezuela will also request the help of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to open spaces for dialogue and peace before this conflict:
“Just as we have gone to the United Nations, we are going to send a letter to the Government of President Manuel López Obrador so that CELAC, (under the pro tempore presidency of Mexico), also acts and we achieve communication channels and guarantee regional peace”, he said.
Support for demining:
Regarding the actions carried out by the FANB in the jurisdiction of Apure state, in order to ensure integrity and respect for sovereignty in the area, he reiterated that the national government addressed a letter to Ilene Cohn, Officer in Charge of the United Nations Service United of Activities related to Mines, to request technical assistance in the deactivation of antipersonnel mines laid in border territory by Colombian irregular groups.
In this sense, he showed statistics from the International Committee of the Red Cross, in which it is detailed that in 2020, 389 people were victims of explosive devices in Colombia, 148 of them by anti-personnel mines.
“Do we want this for Venezuela? Not being able to go through Apure or Amazonas because they are mined by terrorists? We do not want this for Venezuela, that is why we have asked the UN for support”, he added.
Outsourced conflict:
Regarding these aspects, Arreaza said that the actions of the irregular armed groups on the common border show that Colombia outsourced the aggression against Venezuela in an action aimed at undermining national stability. He pointed out that these alleged acts of destabilization seek to generate a conflict. “with the aim of causing death and destruction in Venezuela,” as well as the overthrowing of the Government of President Nicolás Maduro.
He insisted that Venezuela will remain committed to guaranteeing peace. “We must give our people security, peace, tranquility and stability.”
For this reason, he positively valued the work carried out by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, which “in fifteen days have done more than the Armed Forces of Colombia in thirty years, to guarantee security and combat irregular groups.”
“In Colombia there is an internal and eternal war of 70 years (…) that group that faced the Bolivarian National Armed Forces in Apure state, where they did take refuge, did they go to Barinas from Apure? No, they went to the Arauca, to the Colombian department, they crossed the Arauca river and went to that shore and there they are protected”.
Faced with this reality, he questioned that to date there is “no information whatsoever that the Armed Forces of Colombia have captured or killed some of these groups that were expelled from Venezuela in recent weeks.”
