Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday ordered the armed forces to be on alert for a potential attack by Colombia's government and announced military exercises on the border amid the rearmament of a group of former guerrilla commanders.
Colombian troops killed nine FARC dissidents in a raid on Friday in what the president said was “a clear message” to their leaders who have formally rejected a 2016 peace agreement and announced a return to arms. President Ivan Duque said he had authorized the military operation in rural areas of Colombia's south.
A former senior commander of the dissolved FARC rebel army in Colombia announced on Thursday he is taking up arms again along with other guerrillas who have distanced themselves from a historic peace accord signed with the government.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday said two former FARC commanders from neighboring Colombia whose whereabouts are unknown were welcome in Venezuela, a statement likely to fuel criticism that he is providing a safe haven for armed groups.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) presented on Thursday the balance of its main humanitarian concerns in Colombia, highlighting a deterioration of security conditions in the most remote areas of the country. The cases of armed conflicts and the violence that has continued to plague Colombia in recent decades, as well as the recent mass exodus of Venezuelan migrants, showed a complex humanitarian context.
Walter Arízala, known better under his alias Guacho, was wanted for the murder of two Ecuadorean journalists and their driver earlier this year. On Friday, Colombian President Ivan Duque said he was killed in an operation near the Ecuadorean border.
Colombian migration authorities Wednesday confirmed Venezuelan national Carlos Manuel Pino García was in custody in Bogotá, to be eventually deported Thursday.
The first round of presidential elections in Colombia ended with two leading candidates who will face off next Sunday: Conservative Ivan Duque led with 39% of the vote in the first round, and leftist Gustavo Petro followed with 25%. Centrist Sergio Fajardo came in third place with 23.8% of the votes, and his supporters will now help decide the run-off outcome.
Right wing candidate Ivan Duque looks set to win Colombia’s presidential run-off on June 17, two polls published on Friday indicated, as he held on to his long-running lead over leftist Gustavo Petro.
One of the top leaders of Colombia's former rebel group, FARC, has been arrested in Bogota following a request from the United States. Jesus Santrich, a former peace negotiator, is accused of drug trafficking by a court in New York.