Imposing surveillance, fear and repression, Cuba helped Venezuela revamp its armed forces and military intelligence service. Reuters reveals how two agreements, undisclosed since 2008, let Havana remake Venezuela’s security apparatus. By Angus Berwick. Full Text -> Reuters

Traducción de cortesía -> Imponiendo vigilancia, miedo y represión, Cuba ayudó a Venezuela a renovar sus fuerzas armadas y su servicio de inteligencia militar. Reuters revela cómo dos acuerdos, no revelados desde 2008, permitieron a La Habana rehacer el aparato de seguridad de Venezuela.

Camouflaged Colombian troops with guns and anti-COVID masks creep through dense vegetation in suffocating heat, ready for their many enemies crisscrossing the Venezuelan border.The soldiers are part of a 14,000-strong military unit created last month to stem rising bloodshed in the northeastern province of Norte de Santander: Colombia’s new epicenter of conflict, fueled by rising cocaine production.By Luis Jaime Acosta. Full Text -> Reuters

Traducción de cortesía -> Tropas colombianas camufladas con armas y máscaras anti-COVID se arrastran a través de la densa vegetación en un calor sofocante, listas para que sus numerosos enemigos crucen la frontera venezolana. Los soldados son parte de una unidad militar de 14.000 efectivos creada el mes pasado para detener el creciente derramamiento de sangre en la provincia nororiental de Norte de Santander: el nuevo epicentro del conflicto en Colombia, impulsado por el aumento de la producción de cocaína.

Colombia has deployed thousands of troops to a restive region in the country’s north near the border with Venezuela in a declared attempt to bolster government control of the area, which is a hotspot of activity by criminal groups and drug traffickers. Full Text-> PressTV

Traducción de cortesía-> Colombia ha desplegado miles de tropas en una región convulsa en el norte del país, cerca de la frontera con Venezuela, en un intento declarado de reforzar el control gubernamental del área, que es un foco de actividad de grupos criminales y narcotraficantes.

Colombia has increased its troop presence on the joint border with Venezuela after five Colombian soldiers were killed and several others wounded in an attack. The soldiers were killed Saturday in clashes that Bogota claimed were planned on its neighbor’s soil by armed groups from Colombia’s last remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and dissident FARC guerrillas, who have rejected a 2016 peace deal with the government. Full Text -> PressTV

Traducción de cortesía -> Colombia ha aumentado su presencia de tropas en la frontera conjunta con Venezuela luego de que cinco soldados colombianos murieran y varios más resultaron heridos en un ataque. Los soldados murieron el sábado en enfrentamientos que, según Bogotá, fueron planeados en territorio vecino por grupos armados del último grupo rebelde restante de Colombia, el Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), y guerrilleros disidentes de las FARC, que rechazaron un acuerdo de paz de 2016 con el gobierno.

Colombian soldiers carried out this Saturday a military exercise in the Caribbean department of La Guajira, bordering Venezuela, and the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, assured that the country is prepared to respond to any international threat.Full Text-> The Rio Times

 In recent weeks Venezuelan military and police have been conducting offensive operations in the southwestern state of Apure near the Colombian border. Aside from the humanitarian toll they are taking on the local civilian populace, they have sparked fears that Caracas is once again ramping up pressure on its perceived mortal enemy Colombia. By Matthew Smith. Full Text-> OilPrice

Colombia President Ivan Duque announced on Monday the creation of a new elite commando unit to fight Marxist rebels and drug-traffickers that seek refuge in neighboring Venezuela.Duque told Radio Nacional the country would launch the Specialist Commando against Drug-trafficking and Transnational Threats on February 26 and be “fully operational” in May. He said the “aim for this year is to strike at the heads of narcoterrorism.” Full Text -> France24