The President of the United States Joe Biden offered Monday
"his support"
to his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque
"to face (...) terrorist actions"
after the attack on his helicopter near the border with the Venezuela.
This is the first time that the US president has met directly with Ivan Duque since taking office at the White House, the Colombian presidency said.
Read also: Ivan Duque wants the end of "tyranny" in Venezuela
According to the Defense Ministry, the shots that targeted the presidential helicopter on Friday were the work of guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last active guerrilla in the country, and dissidents of the peace signed in 2016 with the FARC. The two groups, along with paramilitary organizations, are fighting over the thousands of hectares of coca planted in the region, a major smuggling route to Venezuela. The ELN and the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are also accused by the government of being behind a car bomb attack perpetrated ten days ago against a military barracks in Cucuta (east), the main border town.
American soldiers were on the base to participate in the fight against drug trafficking. The FBI is participating in the investigation to find those responsible for the attack that left 36 people injured. The ELN has denied any involvement. According to the Colombian presidency, Joe Biden also expressed
"his concern about the situation in Venezuela and its regional impact, and stressed the importance of seeking an international consensus for free and fair elections"
in the country. Colombia and the United States are leading efforts in the region to oust Nicolas Maduro from power. Both countries consider him
"a dictator"
and recognize the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido, as interim president.
Despite a porous border of some 2,200 kilometers, Bogota and Caracas have not maintained any diplomatic relations since February 2019. The Duque government has launched an ambitious plan to regularize around one million of the 1.8 million Venezuelan migrants present in the territory. During this phone conversation, Joe Biden also announced a donation of 2.5 million doses of the Covid Janssen vaccine.
