The constitutional president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, announced the start of the «Relámpago del Catatumbo» (Catatumbo Lightning) operation, as part of the «Escudo Bolivariano” (Bolivarian Shield) 2025 exercise, which has been deployed throughout the border region with Colombia, to protect and preserve the peace and security of the populations of both nations and which has obtained early victories to date.
Through his social networks, he released a brief and forceful video showing some achievements of the military deployment on the border lines, where the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) conducts strategic operations of comprehensive defense and humanitarian aid from January 29, 2025 until further notice.
Among the advances made in the first hours of the operation, improvised premises of irregular groups have been destroyed, as well as two unauthorized runways, the patrolling of 96 irregular border crossings covering around 2,000 square kilometers, and a 100-kilometer front in the Zulia and Táchira states.
In this geographic and aerospace space of the Venezuelan border entities, organized crime groups are fought, neutralized and eradicated, and their logistical systems are destroyed.
In addition, a humanitarian corridor is established to provide assistance to more than two thousand displaced Colombian civilians who enter Venezuela due to the armed conflict in the North of Santander region, in the Republic of Colombia.
From the Catatumbo River region to Lake Maracaibo, drones, helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft are being used, in addition to ground patrols to put an end to criminal activities carried out in the region, such as kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, cattle rustling, smuggling of food and strategic material and human trafficking, as well as trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives.
The FANB, with the Bolivarian Shield operation, combats all irregular and criminal activities that directly affect the sovereignty, peace and tranquility of the Venezuelan and foreign population that lives on national soil, and especially the international line.