Thousands of Venezuelans flee clashes on the border with Colombia 2:46
(CNN Spanish) -
The Minister for Defense of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino López, spoke at a press conference this Saturday about the conflict that is taking place in the state of Apure, on the border with Colombia, where they assure that they are "carrying out actions against irregular groups Colombian armed forces ”within the framework of the“ Bolivarian Shield 2021 ”operation.
When asked if they identify the armed group they would be facing, he declined to offer details.
In the opinion of the Minister for Defense "human rights are being guaranteed" in this conflict that is taking place in the state of Apure and he affirmed that that is why they have called the Public Ministry to join.
He stressed that there will be no automatic solidarity and that they will act against the troops of the Armed Forces who incur in these possible offenses.
For his part, the Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, reported this Saturday on his social networks that, given the events that occurred, a joint commission of the General Directorate for the Protection of Human Rights and the Criminalistics Unit was sent to the area. of the Public Ministry, as he said, to carry out the pertinent investigation procedures and expertise.
He specified that they are 12 experts who will carry out technical inspections at the scene of the conflict, planimetric expertise, ballistic trajectory expertise, and autopsy protocols, among others.
MIRA: What is happening in Arauca, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela?
Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations such as Provea denounce that Apure has become a “war zone”.
They warn that "the conflict between the FANB (Bolivarian National Armed Forces) and alleged FARC (guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) has caused destruction and regrettable loss of life in Apure."
They denounce that more than 3,000 Venezuelans have fled to Colombia due to the case and that 30 peasants remain in detention.
Credit: DANIEL MARTINEZ / AFP via Getty Images
Padrino López in his statement questioned the work of the media and NGOs for reporting on the conflict in Apure, considering that they have lent themselves to "spread false information disseminated by armed groups through WhatsApp."
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“The media and NGOs have played a role in this.
The role they are playing in this operation is striking, which simply seeks to keep violence in Venezuela, drug trafficking in Colombia at bay and which seeks peace and guarantee the sovereignty of the homeland, ”said the Venezuelan Minister for Defense. .
The director of the NGO Fundaredes, Javier Tarazona, who has been reporting and denouncing incidents in the case, responded to these allegations.
“Now Padrino López intends to criminalize the work of promotion and defense of human rights in the conflict in the state of Apure.
The attack against NGOs and the media is evidence of authoritarianism, added to the denial of operations by the FARC-EP and ELN (Colombian guerrilla of the National Liberation Army) in 20 states of Venezuela, ”he wrote on Twitter.
MORE: More than 3,000 displaced by clashes on the border between Colombia and Venezuela
Padrino López offered a balance on the actions that, he assured, have been registered since March 21, in which he affirmed that so far six people who he described as "terrorists" have died and 39 people who have been arrested, 27 of which They had been placed under the control of the Military Court 14, and added that the other 12 were detained this Friday, without specifying whether they had already been brought before the courts.
He explained that, within the framework of these actions, they have seized weapons, grenades, ammunition, explosives, military clothing, vehicles, drugs and technological equipment with information related to their activities.
Previously, last Tuesday, the senior official had reported that two soldiers who died in clashes with "Colombian irregular armed groups" were fired with honors.
Last Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia had expressed its concern about the "serious humanitarian effects" that the armed confrontations in the border region of the department of Arauca may have on civil society in the Venezuelan state of Apure.
In a series of tweets published this Wednesday, the Colombian Foreign Ministry called on the international community to join the assistance of what they called the humanitarian crisis, indicating that more than 3,100 people were forced to move to the country to protect themselves.
Jose Miguel Vivanco speaks.
Credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP via Getty Images
This figure was also confirmed by José Miguel Vivanco, director of the Division for the Americas of Human Rights Watch (HRW), who this Tuesday expressed his concern “for the more than 3,000 Venezuelans who have arrived in Arauquita, Colombia, fleeing clashes between Venezuelan military and FARC dissidents ”.
In his tweet, Vivanco added that they monitor the situation and asked both sides to respect the civilian population.
