Colombia Welcomes Paramilitaries With Open Arms, Maduro Says

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro denounced Colombia for harboring armed criminal groups seeking to evade justice in his country.

RELATED:

Colombia: 23-Year-Old Man Killed by Police in Cajibio, Cauca

During an act of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) on Tuesday, the Bolivarian leader stressed that paramilitary groups "are going to Colombia because they are being welcomed there with open arms". 

Among those groups is a gang that promoted criminal acts in a popular neighborhood of Caracas and has financing from the Colombian paramilitary structure, which is tolerated by President Ivan Duque.

In relation to these incidents, Maduro highlighted Venezuela has perfected institutions and laws to guarantee internal security and peace. However, these efforts are undermined by the destabilizing actions that external agents are trying to deploy.

At the beginning of July, for example, the gang led by a criminal named Koki caused shootouts with the police in the Cota 905 neighborhood in Caracas. The gang then extended its violent actions to other areas such as El Paraiso, La Vega, and El Cementerio.

Days later, Venezuelan authorities captured those responsible for the violence in Caracas. Among those arrested were three Colombian paramilitaries. 

Maduro described the Colombian government as "a narco-terrorist mafia" that has become "an export machine of mercenaries and assassins." He also ordered the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to maintain "zero tolerance" with armed gangs entering Venezuelan territory from Colombia.

The links between the Colombian state, paramilitarism, and international crime have become increasingly evident.

“In Sep. 2020, as right wing paramilitaries carried out numerous massacres in Colombia, the Israeli military gave a several-day training to special forces of the Colombian military. They even made these hideous patches to commemorate their alliance,” recalled journalist Dan Cohen.