A new regional security push led by the United States could bring Washington, Bogotá and Caracas into closer coordination against Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas and other armed factions that have long used Venezuelan territory as a safe haven.
Colombia recently joined the “Shield of the Americas,” an initiative President Trump launched in Miami in March aimed at fighting transnational crime and terrorism across the hemisphere. Combined with the influence Washington already wields over Venezuela’s government, analysts say this could open the door to a coordinated three-way effort to dismantle Colombian criminal networks that operate on the Venezuelan side of the border, where they control illegal mines and natural resources.
Nothing has been formalized yet, but experts consider it a real possibility. Germán Castañeda, a former Colombian diplomat who spent 25 years working on bilateral relations and served at the embassy in Caracas, told El Tiempo that the U.S. urgently needs a secure partner in the region to protect its investments, particularly given irregular armed groups’ hold over territory and resources just across the border.
Building a roadmap for military cooperation, with U.S. backing, is seen as the next logical step in tightening the net around these criminal structures. Read the full report at El Tiempo for more on how this potential alliance could reshape border security.
Source: EE. UU., Colombia y Venezuela: el nuevo frente común que podría estrechar cerco sobre el Eln y grupos fronterizos (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Tommy Japan 79, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).