Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed gratitude on Thursday to his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro, for enhancing security in the Catatumbo region by deploying 25,000 military personnel to combat narcoterrorism along the Colombia-Venezuela border.

RELATED: Venezuela and Dominica Reaffirm Regional Solidarity Amid Rising Security Concerns

“I want to thank the president of Colombia, with whom we share one flag — yellow, blue, and red — during this magnificent graduation ceremony. President Gustavo Petro has today ordered the reinforcement of the entire Colombian Catatumbo area,” emphasized the Venezuelan leader.

“Venezuela and Colombia united for peace because we ourselves care for, monitor, and preserve our lands,” the president remarked during the closing of the Second Course of Revolutionary Special Operations (COER) in the Macarao parish of Caracas.

Meanwhile, President Maduro instructed Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López to engage in dialogue with his Colombian counterpart, Pedro Sánchez Suárez, to continue coordinating efforts for Binational Peace Zone No. 1.

Furthermore, Maduro directed the graduates of the Second Course of Revolutionary Special Operations (COER) to “head to the state of Táchira and, using the methods they have learned, clear Venezuelan territory from Táchira to La Guajira, consolidating sovereignty and peace in Binational Zone No. 1.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested the “militarization of the Catatumbo border to maximize the reduction of mafia forces.”

IN THIS ARTICLE