Venezuelan minister announces expansion of security operation along border with Colombia

The Venezuelan Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Gustavo Gonzalez, announced Tuesday the continuation of a security operation aiming to eradicate paramilitary units and smuggling rings along the country's border with Colombia.

Through messages posted on his official Twitter page, the minister indicated that the operation will be extended to more municipalities in the southwestern state of Tachira, one of the areas most affected by these illegal groups.

Gonzalez also noted that the officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Bolivarian National Police, the Corps of Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations, the Bolivarian National Guard and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service would team up to restore stability and peace in these territories.

He said these actions would compliment the announcement made by President Nicolas Maduro on Monday, when he stated during a press conference that the actions along the Colombian border would be maintained as long as needed.

The action aims to "rescue the territories bordering Colombia from the harassment of paramilitary bands dedicated to smuggling, extortion and kidnapping," said the head of state.

Last week, Maduro ordered all frontier traffic to be closed and decreed a state of emergency in five Tachira municipalities, after three soldiers and a civilian were injured from an ambush by a criminal group.

This attack saw Caracas activate a security plan to oust alleged Colombian paramilitary groups from their bases inside Venezuela and to peacefully deport over 1,000 Colombian citizens residing illegally in the country. Endit