In a statement to the press at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Tuesday, Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza informed about the diplomatic steps taken before different UN agencies to facilitate coordination with the Colombian Government to find a solution regarding the attacks of irregular armed groups on the border with Apure state.
“Colombia is a threat to Venezuela’s and the region’s security,” said Arreaza, who also highlighted that Colombia is a failed state permeated by drug trafficking and the lack of will to take actions against these armed groups.
In this regard, Arreaza explained a letter was sent to Ilene Cohn, deputy director and Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), to request technical assistance and update guidance to detect and deactivate anti-personnel mines laid by Colombian irregular groups in Venezuelan territory to sow terror and cause deaths on the border.
The Venezuelan foreign minister shared some statistics by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which registered 389 victims of explosive devices in Colombia in 2020.
Likewise, Arreaza said they also sent a letter to Dang Dinh Quy, permanent representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the UN and president of the Security Council for the month of April 2021, to request that the next quarterly meeting on Colombia decides to investigate the activities of Colombian armed groups, which launch attacks from Colombia against Venezuela’s territory and population, and ensure that these two nations live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, as established by the Charter of the United Nations.
Minister Arreaza explained that a similar letter was sent to UN Secretary General António Guterres, and a second letter requesting him to provide his good offices to deal with these important binational issues and establish a direct, permanent communication channel between the appropriate authorities to solve the issues concerning the Colombia-Venezuela 1,378-mile border.
Arreaza announced that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will soon address a letter to the Mexican Government, in its role as the Pro Tempore President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), requesting it to act as a mediator before Ivan Duque’s government to guarantee the Zone of Peace declared by CELAC in December 2014.
“We remain committed to peace in Colombia,” stressed the Venezuelan foreign minister.