Alvaro Uribe, former president and current senator of Colombia, is not ruling out the possibility that the best way to help Venezuela overcome the serious humanitarian crisis it faces, caused by the Maduro dictatorship, is through a domestic intervention with the support of the international community.
The pronouncement was made within the framework of the end of meetings for the XXIV summit of the Circle of Montevideo that took place in the city of Bogotá. According to the Colombian leader, the proposal does not intend to install a military regime, but to establish a framework for a future time of “democratic certainty.”
“We must intervene in Venezuela for humanitarian reasons, but that intervention will not be an international intervention, it has to be a domestic intervention supported by the international community,” he argued.
Last September, Uribe, before the Senate of Colombia, put on the table the situation of Venezuelans fleeing the Maduro regime, which according to estimates of the Duque administration, in the worst case scenario could reach 4 million immigrants in 2021.
In his speech he expressed the need to seek, together with the international community, the “legal paths for intervention in Venezuela.”
“It is necessary for the international community to seek the legal paths for intervention in Venezuela, as proposed by President Iván Duque,” affirmed Uribe.
Security analyst John Marulanda told the PanAm Post that President Uribe’s calls must be understood in a context of military victory.
“When we talk about domestic intervention, it could be an internal intervention from within Venezuela prompted by its own military. Or it could be only regional, given the international context in which Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey, Canada, France, and the US may have reason to get involved.”
He added that the call to force is clear, as was the case when the former president asked the military to intervene.
On the other hand, Francisco Santos, Colombian ambassador to the United States, has been paying tribute to the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.
At a conference in Washington, he said that Colombia can not adopt a passive position with respect to the Maduro regime and said that “all options must be considered.”
“Voices have spoken out regarding unilateral military operations. We believe that there must be a collective response to the crisis (in Venezuela), but we also believe, let me be very clear, that all options must be considered. And that the Maduro regime should be pressured politically, economically, and strategically at all levels,” he noted.
However, President Duque’s position has not been precise, as he has indicated that he is in favor of a democratic solution for the neighboring country, and he has been leading joint regional action to pressure the Maduro government. However, he has not indicated that he is in favor of Colombia’s military intervention in that country.
International law expert Mariano de Alba noted in an interview with the PanAm Post: “it seems that the Duque Government is not really contemplating an intervention as an option, but rather they want to solidify unprecedented international aid to deal with migration.”
Will Venezuela attack?
This question is key, given the recent military harassment on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, it is understood that Colombia is preparing an offensive that could be carried out at any time.
However, according to the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela, this operational deployment is intended to fight drug trafficking and organized crime in the border region.
What is clear is that Colombia would not attack Venezuela, since the Casa de Nariño has adopted a defensive posture, as Venezuela has cultivated close relationships with various governments, and might count on the support of Russian, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and/or Iranian mercenaries.
If such a confrontation were to take place, the first battle lines would likely be drawn along the Paraguachon-Riohacha line and along the La Guajira coastline, in northeastern Colombia.
