Almost a year after the use of landmines was first reported in Venezuela, their deployment now appears a routine tactic for Colombian guerrilla groups operating in the country, especially in border zones.In February, over 900 homemade explosive mines, made out of plastic containers and shrapnel, were decommissioned by Venezuelan Army forces in the Arenales district of the Apure province, bordering Colombia, according to information posted on Twitter by the head of the Venezuela Army’s strategic command, General Domingo Herández Lárez. Full Text -> InSightCrime

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Casi un año después de que se informara por primera vez del uso de minas terrestres en Venezuela, su utilización parece haberse convertido en una táctica estándar de los grupos guerrilleros colombianos en el país, especialmente en la zona fronteriza. En febrero de este año, más de 900 minas explosivas caseras, hechas de contenedores de plástico y metralla, fueron desmanteladas por el Ejército venezolano en el sector Arenales, estado Apure, en la frontera con Colombia, según un tuit del general Domingo Hernández Lárez, director del comando estratégico del Ejército venezolano. Full Text -> InSightCrime

The conflict along the Colombia – Venezuela border involving FARC dissidents and ELN also reveals the continued use of anti-personnel mines to attack military targets. On March 21, during an assault by Venezuela’s security forces against a guerrilla camp inside the country, the ELN responded by detonating a military convoy with IEDs killing two soldiers of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB). Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino accused Colombia of “neglecting the border” to permit the free movement of criminal organizations beyond his country’s Western limits. By Richard Emblin. Full Text -> TheCityPaper