Venezuelan defectors say Colombia is ready to establish a new military command

Venezuelan security dissidents from Colombia have watched the fall of Nicolás Maduro in disbelief and anticipation, with some even thinking of returning to establish a new leadership.

Former soldiers and policemen accused of treason after giving up their uniform nearly seven years ago have sought refuge in Colombia, but the US arrest of Maduro has reshaped the landscape, they say.

One of the commanders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that when he was about to be appointed army general, he resigned on moral grounds following a dispute with his superiors.

Without Nicolás Maduro, he explains, “the military high command made up of some of his former comrades will have to step down”.

But for now, “these officers are still completely loyal to the regime,” said Williams Cancino, a former member of the police Special Operations Command.

These defectors, who are in constant contact with their former comrades and parties involved in this mass flight, say they plan to return with the aim of replacing the current top military leadership, which NGOs accuse of human rights abuses and other crimes.

“We need new senior leadership… We’re waiting for the right moment to support the new government” that will be elected, “and to rebuild state institutions and restore order”.

Cancino arrived at the border in 2019 with a group of men in uniform and crossed into Colombia on foot before handing over their weapons to the authorities.

He says his plan at the time was to establish a leadership capable of toppling Maduro after opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president under US pressure on the incumbent.

This time, he asserts that his hope is “limitless… The era of freedom has really begun in Venezuela”.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States is leading Venezuela, but hasn’t announced the deployment of troops or support for any special forces outside the scope of Venezuela’s armed forces.

After Maduro, who pleaded not guilty on Monday in a New York court, the Venezuelan military offered its support to Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as interim president on Monday.

“If you don’t do what is necessary, you will pay a heavy price, perhaps more expensive than Maduro has paid,” Trump warned.

The defectors interviewed by AFP say the military and police remain loyal to Maduro, despite the US military operation on Saturday.

These institutions remain under the leadership of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, both of whom are wanted by the US judiciary.

“We don’t want a conflict between the people of the country”.

Former investigator Clipperth Delgado is skeptical that there could be a transition of power in Venezuela as long as senior officers loyal to Delcy Rodriguez remain in office.

Independent estimates put the country with about 2,000 generals.

Delgado explains that he worked for Oscar Pérez, a policeman who rose to prominence in 2017 after his rebellion against Nicolás Maduro, but was assassinated in 2018.

With the ousted Venezuelan president currently in custody in the United States, and the potential collapse of the power structure, Delgado asserts that the dissidents want to propose a new institution of the security services to Rodriguez’s government.

From one of the secret houses where he is hiding in a popular neighborhood minutes from the border, he says that if their request is rejected, weapons are always an option.

But Cancino explains, “We don’t want a conflict, no civil war, no fighting between brothers”.

Juan Guaido, who lives in the United States, sees a way forward with opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado.