Colombia, Venezuela launch joint operation to counter guerrilla groups

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00:00Standing in front of his lined-up troops,

00:02Venezuela's defense minister launched Operation Catacombo Blitz.

00:12This caught our attention so we decided to launch this operation precisely to

00:17prevent the access of groups, whatever they're called, to the Venezuelan territory

00:22and also to guarantee the proper functioning of the internal order, the democratic stability.

00:30Venezuela is assigning 5,000 troops to the Catacombo region on the border with Colombia.

00:37The coordinated offensive hopes to recover territory lost to guerrilla group ELN

00:42and other organized crime groups.

00:44This comes only a few weeks after some of Colombia's worst clashes in recent history,

00:49which saw the collapse of a fragile truce between rebel groups

00:52vying for control of one of the country's largest cocaine hubs.

00:57Fearing for their lives, these Catacombo residents have had to flee the violence.

01:02Living in tents on the Bolívar Square in Colombia's capital Bogotá,

01:06they hope their encampment will encourage the government to act.

01:12What can I tell you? We all left because we feared for our lives.

01:16We demand guarantees because the people who are returning to our territory are

01:20not being allowed in. We have no house, no food and nowhere to sleep.

01:26We want peace. We demand it. We shouldn't have to pay what we don't owe.

01:34Recent violence in the Catacombo region has left dozens dead

01:37and has displaced around 48,000 people since mid-January.

01:41Catacombo is home to drug trafficking routes and plantations of coca,

01:46the main ingredient in cocaine.

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