According to security experts and international studies, it is necessary for Colombia’s new government and Venezuela’s government to establish a peace agreement with international accompaniment, which would allow controlling the armed groups on the border, where they operate at least 12 illegal activities, one of which is the internal traffic of arms.
By La Patilla – María Eugenia Diaz
Aug 24, 2022
Analysts warn that otherwise the violence will increase in the border areas, where the irregular groups currently function freely. They also make it clear that if both governments are not capable of guaranteeing security on the border, the reactivation of the productive forces in Venezuela and Colombia will not happen, and consequently, the economic setback will intensify for the civilian population.
The internationalist Freddy Jabano assures that, considering the reality experienced during the few days of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in power, important decisions have already been made, such as the acceptance of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Colombia, the also internationalist Félix Plasencia, and by Colombia, the appointment of senator and right-hand man of Petro, Armando Benedetti as the Colombian Ambassador in Venezuela.
For Mr. Jabano, these decisions “speak well” of the process of reestablishing relations between the two nations in this new presidential term in Colombia, but he insists on the existence of elements that are not easy to resolve that intervene in this “complex” diplomatic relationship.
The internationalist considers that the upsurge in violence on the Arauca (Colombia)-Apure (Venezuela) axis is the first issue to be addressed, since in 2022 the number of deaths that occurred on the border last year has already been exceeded.
“In 2021, 187 people were murdered but this year to date, according to official records, the figure exceeds 200 deaths between the Department of Arauca (Colombia) and Apure State (Venezuela), many of them Apure locals displaced from our country into Colombian territory,” he points out.
Jabano, who was also Border Director for the Apure State government, underscores that the second element to study in the Colombian-Venezuelan relationship is the actions of the guerrilla “fronts” in this border area.
“The Guerrilla so called fronts”: Front 10 Martín Villa; Front 28; and Front 33 of the Jorge Briceño Bloc, have been very active for months. The Dissident FARC have advanced in their confrontation with the ELN. In addition, clandestine cells of the “Clan del Golfo” (drug cartel), criminal gangs such as the “Tren de Aragua” and “Los Rastrojos” which control the border crossings, also operate on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” says the analyst.
He recalled that during the past two years, moments of tension have been experienced in the Venezuelan territory, after the death of alias “El Paisa”, Jesús Santrichand, of alias “Romaña”, Gentil Duarte, and the recent operation that almost liquidated Iván Marquez. “These confrontations deserve a very special analysis,” he highlights.
UN Intervention
The internationalist warns that Petro is not going to receive a calm country. On the contrary, he is facing a region like Arauca that is completely at war.
“Hence the importance of the peace agreement between the two nations, which is not an easy issue, because there are some actors who are not likely to join a negotiating table, since they are criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking in the area. In Arauca-Apure a kind of market is developing, where different actors of different nature and from other countries come to buy and negotiate drugs, as well as illegal products such as gold, gems extracted from Colombia, rare earths and strategic minerals negotiated on the black market.
Jabano insists on the incorporation of the United Nations in this peace process in these interior parts of Colombia and Venezuela. “Maduro is going to “lose his left hand” in this process, because Petro does not see him as a leader of 21st century socialism and, on the contrary, does not give him relevance, to the point that he did not push to invite him to his inauguration as president of Colombia.”
The specialist considers it necessary to create a legal framework, prepared with the presence of international witnesses from the United Nations, which allows the Colombian President, in the internal sphere, to initiate a negotiation process, supervised by UN commissions, able to achieve the control of the existing criminal gangs in these border areas, where Colombia has more than 7,000 enlisted soldiers deployed.
Coexistence Between the FARC and the ELN
For there to be economic reactivation on the border, it is essential that both governments “clean” the area of criminals
The specialist in international affairs hopes that Venezuela has the will to control the flow of displaced guerrillas into the country. These armed groups recruit people and are involved in white slavery, other illicit businesses, and also ally with some Venezuelan and Colombian military to commit crimes by smuggling gasoline and diesel, as well as charging the civilian population for “vaccines” (protection money). In this way, they exercise control over trade in Arauca and Apure.
Currently, there is an unwritten agreement of coexistence between the armed groups (ELN and Dissident FARC) in the States of Bolívar and Apure, because both areas are connected by Puerto Páez and Puerto Ayacucho (Amazonas State), where they have a monopoly on illicit business on the border of Inírida (Colombia) where marijuana is cultivated and now legalization is imminent, as announced in recent days by the new government in Bogotá.
“The agreement must continue, but it must be discussed by the actors involved in the peace talks, because the confrontations do not favor either Venezuela or Colombia, in a business as lucrative as marijuana, which will apparently be legalized by (President) Petro. This would generate new negotiations, where it is convenient for Venezuela to join, because in the country the process of commercialization of this drug will begin.”
Another of the points to be analyzed in this new relationship are the disputes between these criminal groups, which – according to Jabano – are going to collide with the needs of the official actors, who aspire to reactivate the productive apparatus on the border regions.
“After the decline of trade between Venezuela and Colombia, until almost reaching zero, now with these new negotiations and the reopening of the border for commercial exchange between Venezuela and Colombia, profits are expected to increase between 800 million and 1,200 million of dollars.”
For this economic reactivation to occur, he considers it essential that both governments “clean” the area of criminals in order to provide confidence to businessmen. “They must establish the minimum necessary conditions to guarantee the security of merchants. Otherwise, the desired growth will not take place on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” he added.
Homeless Indians
El Amparo, Arauca
He lamented that the Venezuelan military in recent times have become a kind of “businessmen”, who in turn control trade between Colombia and Venezuela.
“All merchandise is reviewed and controlled by these individuals, who will also, obviously, take care of their business, as well as their front men. They may be interested that the “Tren de Aragua” or “Los Rastrojos” (both armed mega gangs) do not have the preponderance they now have in the area, because they have control of some particular areas related to the management of citizens,” emphasized the internationalist.
The Apure-Arauca case should also be a point on the negotiating agenda. Humanitarian problems such as the displacement of people, white slavery, the recruitment of guerrillas, “vaccinations” (protection racket) for producers and ranchers, and the personal insecurity of civilians, including indigenous communities, can no longer be ignored.
“The indigenous people don’t know what to do, they don’t have a notion of territory, they roam the zones and are taken as informants on both sides, for which human rights violations are constant. Almost the entire territory of Apure is invaded by various groups of different nature and interests, which have not been able to be controlled by anyone. These have the capacity to be above the surveillance processes in the region. Some of them have businesses in vital areas of the Apure State, as evidenced by the complaints from NGOs and international organizations,” concluded Jabana.
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