Caracas accused its neighbor, Colombia of harboring training camps for militants plotting attacks on Venezuela, saying it has just thwarted a high-profile act of sabotage targeting the country’s police force.

Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodríguez appeared on state TV to show what he said are satellite images of three paramilitary camps located inside Colombia. These facilities are used to train as many as 200 militants while the Colombian president does nothing to crack down on them, Rodriguez claimed.

“How many innocent deaths do you need, Ivan Duque?” he said. “We are sure you won’t do anything, because you are complicit with these terrorists.”

Cuántos muertos necesitas, Julio Borges? Cuántos, Cliver Alcalá Cordones, cobarde. Cuántos inocentes muertos buscaban, Iván Duque? Pensaban volar el Palacio de Justicia, situado en el centro de la ciudad de Ccs: https://t.co/2fryuVFd2X — Jorge Rodríguez (@jorgerpsuv) August 31, 2019

To back up his claim, Rodriguez said his country’s security services foiled a major terrorist attack on the headquarters of two elite police commando units, as well as the Palace of Justice in Caracas.



Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuela will bring the matters to the UN’s attention, presenting “strong evidence” of Duque’s complicity in “training and arming terrorist groups.”

Venezuela presentará ante la ONU pruebas contundentes sobre la protección y amparo de @IvanDuque a grupos terroristas, entrenados y armados en Colombia para, con su anuencia, atentar contra nuestro orden constitucional, en violación dla Resolución 1373 del Consejo de Seguridad! https://t.co/HfmvJCQRL4 — Delcy Rodríguez (@DrodriguezVen) August 31, 2019

Tensions between Caracas and Bogota have spiked following the economic and political crisis gripping Venezuela since last year. The Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolas Maduro, has long seen Colombia as a launching pad for US-led regime change efforts and sabotage operations.

Juan Guaido, the Western-backed self-proclaimed ‘interim president’ of Venezuela, has an array of Colombia-based representatives tasked with collecting money and aid from the US and other donors.

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Venezuela’s accusations come days after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – a Marxist anti-government guerilla movement – announced they would take up arms against Duque’s government, which they accuse of breaking a 2016 truce.

The insurgent group citied hundreds of social leaders and former FARC members killed since Duque took office. The Colombian president has vowed to hunt down FARC militants, calling them “narco-terrorists” who benefit from the support of “Maduro’s dictatorship.”

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