Versión Español
A Colombian army report confirmed an open secret: Nicolas Maduro’s regime is protecting criminals with help from terrorist groups.
Intelligence reports from the Colombian Army revealed that Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, alias Jesus Santrich, a former FARC guerrilla, fled to Venezuela. ELN, the terrorist group that has said it is willing to defend Maduro against an eventual military coalition against the dictatorship, is now protecting Santrich.
Líderes de la extinta guerrilla de las FARC estarían en Venezuela para realizar, desde allí, una alianza con el ELN con el fin de delinquir conjuntamente https://t.co/yqNEZKp2QB pic.twitter.com/tO4gSLvMYO
— Noticias Caracol (@NoticiasCaracol) July 2, 2019
The intelligence documents state that emissaries of Ivan Marquez, presumably members of ELN, picked Santrich as soon as he crossed into Venezuela. They would take him to meet the former guerrilla commander, and Gentil Duarte, FARC’s first high ranking deserter of the peace process and who today, commands the guerilla dissidents. In short, according to Colombian intelligence, the foremost leaders of both terrorist groups are in Venezuela, free and unrestricted, under the protection of Nicolas Maduro.
Santrich is summoned to appear before the Supreme Court of Justice on 9th July in the trial for alleged conspiracy to commit drug trafficking.
Santrich is wanted in the United States with an extradition request. He is still waiting for the second ruling of the Special Jurisdiction of Peace on the principle of non-extradition. He had the right to non-extradition for supposedly already been demobilized. According to the Colombian government, five high commanders of the FARC have already deserted the peace process, and their whereabouts are unknown. They are presumably in Venezuela. The guerillas will likely be rearmed. They will be armed by the regime of the neighboring country to continue committing acts of drug trafficking, terrorism, and violence.
One for all and all for one
All indications are that Nicolás Maduro seeks to shield the “Chavista revolution” with the protection of the Colombian terrorist groups that today operate in Venezuela and continue their criminal work. These groups, in turn, have come together and committed to protect the regime and provide it with economic benefits and advice on criminal logistics.
The dictatorship has converted Venezuela into fertile territory for criminal activity. The world is investigating the South American country for permitting the development of terrorist activities, narco-trafficking, international money laundering, and corruption.
Thanks to Chavismo, at least three terrorist groups operate from Venezuela: ELN, FARC, and the Islamist Hezbollah. The country, usurped by Maduro, has become a shelter for ELN thus preventing the Colombian justice system from taking any action against the guerilla group.
The top leaders of the ELN are in Venezuela, while this criminal organization controls part of the handling and trafficking of Venezuelan gold.
Colombian intelligence conducts reports on this subject
Colombian officials have reported that the ELN is at the service of Venezuela as a paramilitary group, assuming practically the same functions as the armed collectives of Chavismo.
“The ELN has become one of the paramilitary groups in Venezuela, basically because they are working with that government and with that dictatorship. They are supporting criminal activities and the illegal recruitment of minors,” said Francisco Barbosa, advisor for International Affairs and Human Rights of the President of Colombia.
The National Liberation Army (ELN) has a presence in at least 12 states in Venezuela and acts in cooperation with members of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.
According to the non-governmental organization InSight Crime (IC), the guerrilla group has managed to settle in Venezuela to engage in criminal activities related to cattle, gasoline smuggling, and even extortion.
According to the NGO report, the National Armed Forces of Venezuela are supporting ELN. They are facilitating ELN’s entry into the Caribbean country in addition to providing weapons and the opportunity of interacting with communities through the distribution of the boxes of the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP). CLAP is a food program of the Venezuelan State. The recent UN report has labeled it as a mechanism of social control to which only citizens belonging to the party have access, as with the Carnet de la Patria program.
For their part, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have also made a living on Venezuelan soil and have used that country as a refuge and escape from the Colombian authorities.
In June 2017, the American Enterprise Institute presented a report in Washington pointing out that elements of the Venezuelan government “administer and support operations of narcotrafficking, money laundering, financing terrorism, back guerilla groups, and corruption.”
According to the report, Venezuela has always been a natural corridor for cocaine exports from Colombia to Europe and the United States, but trafficking increased with Hugo Chavez in power following his backing of the FARC.
