Venezuela Launches ‘Catatumbo Lightning’ Military Operation on Border With Colombia
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C). Photo: Presidential Press
January 31, 2025 Hour: 9:10 am
This operation is part of the popular, military, and police exercise ‘Bolivarian Shield 2025’.
Early on Friday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced a large-scale deployment of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) in coordination with Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
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The “Catatumbo Lightning” Operation is part of the Popular, Military, and Police Exercise “Bolivarian Shield 2025” and covers the entire border shared between Colombia and Venezuela.
“The tasks are being carried out in coordination with the government of President Gustavo Petro, working on a binational development plan that is integrated, economic, social, deeply human in nature, and also unifying for our peoples,” Maduro said.
The head of state also detailed that the deployment extends from the northern regions of Táchira, bordering the Colombian province of Norte de Santander, where clashes between armed factions have been reported, prompting the Colombian government to declare a “State of Internal Commotion.”
“We are going in with full military force, complete and comprehensive,” the Bolivarian leader stated.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan president clarified that “Catatumbo Lightning” exercises are conducted at least three times a year but noted that this edition is particularly significant due to “an ongoing conflict in this vast region that we are closely monitoring.”
Additionally, Maduro stated that through these military operations, Venezuela has successfully cleared and kept its entire territory free of “clandestine airstrips, coca leaf plantations, cocaine production laboratories, and all those disruptive elements.”
The head of state concluded his message with a call for peace and his aspiration to “build paths of integration and Colombian-Venezuelan brotherhood across this vast South American territory.”
teleSUR/ JF Source: VTV – teleSUR