Colombian armed group leaders flee Venezuela after US attack
Leaders of Colombian armed groups allegedly operating in Venezuela have begun fleeing after the US military operation in Caracas that toppled President Nicolás Maduro, according to a Colombian military source.
Bogotá has long suspected that leaders of influential groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), which controls cocaine smuggling routes along the border, and splinter factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), are living in Venezuela.
Security experts say the ELN has rear bases inside Venezuela that Maduro has overlooked, which he has denied.
A Colombian military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, said he had received reports that leaders of armed groups were trying to cross the border back home after Washington’s attack over the weekend.
According to Bogotá’s Ministry of Defense, the presence of these leaders along the border poses a threat to Colombia’s security after Maduro’s fall.
After Maduro was flown to New York for trial, Bogotá issued a warning of possible attacks and deployed thousands of troops along the more than 2,200 km (2,200-mile) border.
