HomeNewsColombia's Guerrillas Bring Landmines to Venezuela
NEWS

Colombia's Guerrillas Bring Landmines to Venezuela

EX-FARC MAFIA / 22 APR 2021 BY SARA GARCIA EN

Reports of landmines being used in Venezuela's Apure state raise the worrying possibility that a recurrent and deadly guerrilla tactic in Colombia is being increasingly exported to its neighbor.

In early April, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced the planting of landmines, allegedly by dissident groups formerly belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC), and asked for support from the United Nations (UN) in destroying them.

“Colombian armed groups have brought the practice of anti-personnel mines...to Venezuela. We have lost several Venezuelan soldiers to the anti-personnel mines […] they have brought their dirty, repugnant methods, from the Colombian war to Venezuela,” said Maduro in a televised address.

On April 15, Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, wrote on Twitter that UN experts were coordinating with armed forces to help with the demining process.

SEE ALSO: Venezuela Sends Mixed Messages to Colombian Insurgents

These reports coincided with fighting in Apure that broke out in March between Venezuelan soldiers and dissidents from the former FARC 10th Front, reportedly aligned with Miguel Botache Santillana, alias "Gentil Duarte." This fighting has led to a serious humanitarian crisis along the border.

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense revealed that two soldiers died and nine soldiers were injured as a result of a landmine explosion in Apure. And Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said in a statement that 16 landmines had been deactivated since the fighting broke out. The Venezuelan army has also deployed at least one minesweeper to the border.

InSight Crime Analysis

Despite reports of close relations between certain dissident FARC elements, and the Venezuelan government, the deployment of landmines makes it clear this does not extend to all ex-FARC groups.

In Colombia, guerrilla groups have largely been responsible for using landmines as a weapon of war. But in recent years, the practice has spread to other criminal groups, who have used this tactic to protect routes, illicit crops, laboratories and territories that are key to their illegal economies.

SEE ALSO: Urabeños Landmines are Guerrilla Tactic from Colombia’s Dark Past

And while Venezuela has been an important area for certain dissident factions that rejected the 2016 Colombian peace process, its country may soon feel the toll of old guerrilla tactics being deployed against its people and security forces.

Back in 1995, the Venezuelan government resorted to planting landmines to protect naval bases from Colombian armed groups operating along the country's border, particularly in Apure. But the country declared itself to be free of landmines to the United Nations in May 2013.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 5 MAY 2022

InSight Crime has presented its latest report, Venezuela’s Cocaine Revolution, the result of three years of investigation by the Venezuelan…

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 2 MAY 2022

On April 3, 2021, police in the east Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui acted on a tip-off to intercept a silver…

GENDER AND CRIME / 6 FEB 2023

Femicides in Venezuela have become a common tactic for organized crime groups, targeting partners and relatives of rivals.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.