(CNN Spanish) - The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, assured this Thursday that his administration has information that the government of the questioned Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has managed the purchase of missiles through Iran.
"There is information from international intelligence organizations that work with us showing that there is an interest of the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro in acquiring medium and long-range missiles through Iran," explained Duque during a virtual conversation called " Commitment to the Future of Colombia ».
The president added that, according to information he has, the weapons "have not yet arrived, but that these approaches have been made, particularly with Padrino's instruction," in reference to the Venezuelan Defense Minister, General Vladimir Padrino.
Through Twitter, Padrino responded that Duque "tries to divert attention to Venezuela once again, launching the false positive strategy as a decoy, taking advantage of the geopolitical situation."
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The Iranian government has not publicly commented on Colombia's accusations. CNN contacted the Iranian Embassy in Venezuela for comment and has not received a response so far.
Back in Colombia, Duque also indicated that there are irregular armed groups operating on the border with Venezuela that receive support from the Maduro government.
"We have intelligence information ... that there are members of the Venezuelan Guard who are triangulating weapons, coming from other countries, particularly Russia and Belarus," for these groups, said the president of Colombia.
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On Twitter, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, described these statements as "infamies and anti-Venezuelan fiction to distract public opinion."
The governments of Russia and Belarus have not publicly commented on the accusations. CNN requested comments from its Foreign Ministries on Friday and so far no response has been received.
