The plan announced by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry seeks to provide care to “the civilian population displaced from Colombia, who are forced to escape the armed violence that has hit them,” after a confrontation between the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army and a dissident group. the FARC in the Catatumbo region
The government of Nicolás Maduro activated this Saturday, January 18, an operation to serve the population entering the country from Colombia due to the clashes between the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and a FARC dissident in the region of the Catatumbo, which have already caused around 30 deaths and more than 20 injuries in two days.
In a message broadcast on Telegram, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, reported that the operation was launched through Civil Protection and the mayors of the border towns of Jesús María Semprún (in the state of Zulia, northwest) and García from Hevia (Táchira, west), review EFE.
The plan seeks to provide care to “the civilian population displaced from Colombia, who are forced to escape the terrible armed violence that has hit them,” said the note, which included a video in which a group of people can be observed, among them children, who – according to an unidentified person – arrived in Venezuelan territory from Colombia.
*Read also: Colombian Army deployed 300 men to the Catatumbo region due to ELN violence
In the statement, Caracas expressed its willingness to “provide the required humanitarian support to the population recurrently affected by the scourge of war in the brother country.”
After the armed clashes in Catatumbo, the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, decided this Friday to suspend talks with the ELN, a guerrilla that he accused of committing “war crimes” in that region and that he considered has “no desire for peace.” .
The offensive launched since Thursday in rural areas of several municipalities of Catatumbo, which covers a good part of the department of Norte de Santander, by the ELN against its rivals from the FARC dissidents surprised the inhabitants of several hamlets who had to run to seek shelter to protect themselves from the shootings, all documented in videos uploaded to social networks.
Caracas hosted, in November 2022, the inaugural cycle of dialogues between the Petro Government and the ELN, and again hosted the fourth round of negotiations.
Mexico City and Havana have also been the venues for talks between the two parties, who had planned to meet next week to reactivate the dialogue table frozen for months due to disagreements.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content is being published taking into consideration the threats and limits that have consequently been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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