BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2019) The Colombian Foreign Ministry slammed on Tuesday Venezuela's accusations of Bogota's involvement in the recent attack on a military unit as groundless, according to a statement.
On Sunday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the opposition attacked a military unit in the south of the country, adding that one soldier was killed during this "terrorist attack." Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez, in his turn, said that the attackers were trained in Colombia and received support from Brazil.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Colombian government decisively denies groundless and malicious accusations of ... [the government of] Nicolas Maduro [against Colombia] in [its] alleged involvement in the attack on the military unit in Venezuela that took place on Sunday," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also added that thus, Venezuela attempted to keep the international community's attention away from real and serious problems in the country, slamming its government as illegal.
Earlier in December, media reported, citing Rodriguez, that the US-backed Venezuelan opposition had been preparing a terrorist attack on the country's military in the northern state of Sucre to disrupt Christmas celebrations. He added that funding for the attack was received from Colombia.
Venezuela has been suffering from severe political crisis since late January when Juan Guaido, the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust reelected Maduro from power. Maduro has accused Guaido of being a US puppet, working with Washington to orchestrate a coup so that the United States can control Venezuela's natural resources. A number of Western countries led by the US recognized Guaido, while Russia, China, Turkey and a number of other states firmly backed Maduro.
