On Monday, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced that Venezuela has deployed 15,000 security force members in Zulia and Tachira, two western states bordering Colombia.
In a televised press conference, the Bolivarian official said the operation is part of the creation of “Peace Zone No. 1,” which will cover both border regions.
“President Nicolas Maduro has ordered an operational reinforcement,” Cabello said, noting that the 15,000 men and women will support the security forces already regularly stationed in the border area.
The special deployment also includes the use of aviation, drones, and boats to fully safeguard Venezuelan territory, Cabello said, urging Colombian authorities to carry out a similar operation on their side of the border to ensure peace.
“This announcement will undoubtedly contribute to peace and security in the area,” the Venezuelan interior minister emphasized.
Earlier, on Saturday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino denied that armed Colombian groups have camps inside Venezuela, after U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Director Terry Cole accused Caracas of collaborating with Colombian guerrillas to move cocaine to Mexican cartels.
In a televised address marking the start of a militia enlistment drive, Padrino stressed that Venezuela does not host camps of any kind belonging to terrorist groups.
On Sunday night, President Maduro promoted his country’s ambassador to Colombia, Carlos Martinez, to the rank of division general in the “active reserve.”
The decision came amid the deployment of U.S. forces in the southern Caribbean waters near Venezuela, a military action Washington claims is aimed at combating drug trafficking.
