Colombia, under the mandate of its president, Abelardo De la Espriella, formalized a cooperation agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the European Police Office (Europol) this weekend – through the deployment of intelligence and operational resources – to restore the public order at the border crossings with Venezuela.
According to data published by El Heraldo, the central goal of the official office is to eradicate the lack of control in land corridors, strictly monitoring the informal roads located in the departments of La Guajira, Arauca and Norte de Santander.
The Colombian government included the situation in Norte de Santander among its priorities in matters of public orderdue to the security problems generated by the presence of criminal organizations, FARC dissidents and the ELN guerrilla.
Retired Army officer Carlos Soler explained that, although attention to the seismic emergency in the Coffee Region momentarily paused the start of actions in rural and urban areasthe public force now has the logistical planning to intervene in the bordering sector.
“Cúcuta is consolidated as a highly strategic point in the political and economic situation of the neighboring country. Currently, five Venezuelan companies work on the organization of oil and gas pipelinesthe embassy is open and plans are advancing for the reconstruction of the areas affected by the recent earthquake,” he indicated.
Likewise, it was detailed that in the field area the plan contemplates reactivating the Sparta Military Campaign with the objective of protecting both the surroundings of Cúcuta like the towns of Catatumbo.
The authorities attribute the uptick in violent events in these areas to the loss of intelligence capacity and military budget cuts inherited from the previous administration.
In the urban area, the government of Colombia indicated that it will launch the Urban Security Operational Block (BOSUL), a recently created device that will act in an articulated manner between various state agencies to address crimes in the northern Santander capital.
