President Petro: "Maduro has helped us defeat drug trafficking on the border with decision"

The President Gustavo Petro He cited this Saturday in his X (formerly Twitter) account the statements of the legal analyst Rodrigo Uprimnyin which this questions the alleged interference of the United States government in the judicial process against the former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Within his trino, Petro said that Nicolás Maduro, head of the Chavista regime, has helped fight drug trafficking at the border.

In its publication, Petro said that “Justice must be independent of the government, from Alaska to Patagonia” And he added: “I do not agree that Latin American blood is spilled by imposition. Venezuela and Maduro have helped us defeat drug trafficking on the border with decision.”.

The words of the Colombian president arrived after Uprimny criticized in News Caracol the recent statements of a senior US official about the Uribe case. “I do not like to talk about imperialism, but this is an imperialist interference of the United States about Colombia”said the analyst, questioning that “The Secretary of the United States” think about judicial decisions in the country.

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Criticism of a double standard
Uprimny pointed out the contradiction that Washington questioned judicial failures in other countries when “They have a convict president”in reference to Donald Trump. According to the jurist, this position promotes that “You can’t chase the powerful” and feel a negative precedent for judicial independence in the world.

The analyst recalled that, in cases such as that of the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, accused of behaviors similar to those of Trump during the assault on the Capitol, “One must respect the independence and judicial autonomy of the different countries” and go to international instances such as the Inter -American Court or the International Criminal Court if there are controversies.

Maduro’s relationship with Colombian criminal groups

The relationship between Nicolás Maduro government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) -The oldest active guerrillas in Colombia-has been a point of friction in Colombo-Venezuelan diplomatic relations in recent years.

Since the end of the 2010, reports from Colombian intelligence agencies, NGOs and international media have indicated that the ELN has consolidated a stable presence in several border states of Venezuelaincluding Apure, Zulia, Amazonas and Táchira. According to him Committee against UN terrorism committee (2022)these groups use the Venezuelan side of the border as rearguard areafor rest, training, storage of weapons and drug trafficking and illegal minerals such as gold.

Accusations of political and logistics support

Previous Colombian governments, especially during the administration of Iván Duquethey accused Maduro of provide refuge and logistical support to the ELNstating that even members of the guerrilla high command were in Caracas and other cities under protection. Duke himself presented in 2019, before the UN, Photographs and coordinates of alleged guerrilla camps in Venezuelaalthough some evidence were then questioned by errors in their origin.

In contrast to those accusations, since Gustavo Petro assumed the presidency in 2022, Venezuela has become guarantor country in peace dialogues with the ELNnext to Cuba and Norway. Maduro has publicly expressed his support for negotiations, offering Venezuelan territory for some rounds of dialogue. Eln himself has recognized that his relationship with the Venezuelan government is “mutual respect”but denies receiving orders or financing from Caracas.

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Strategic motivations
Analysts such as Rocío San Miguel (Citizen Control) argue that the presence of the ELN in Venezuela meets a mutual strategic interest:

• For the ELN, it means a safe space outside the reach of Colombian military forces.

• For Maduro, the group can serve as Armed actor of territorial control in remote areascollaborating with operations against Hostile FARC dissidents to Caracas or in the surveillance of illegal routes.

Although the Venezuelan government denies any military alliance with the ELN, various investigations, such as the one published by Insight Crime In 2023, they document joint operations between Venezuelan military and guerrilla fronts Against rival bands in the Orinoco Mining Arch Region. However, clashes have also been reported, especially in Apure, where the Bolivarian National Armed Forces has faced the ELN factions for the control of illegal economies.