BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia on Tuesday rejected a Russian warning against foreign military intervention in Venezuela and said it supported a peaceful transition to democracy in the neighboring South American country.

"Colombia reiterates that the transition to democracy must be conducted by the Venezuelans themselves peacefully and within the framework of the Constitution and international law, supported by political and diplomatic means, without the use of force," Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said in a statement.

He was responding to a March 28 letter from the upper house of Russia's parliament, forwarded to Colombia's Congress by Russian Ambassador Sergei Koshkin, that said the "illegitimate use of military force against Venezuela by other states that support the opposition will be interpreted ... as an act of aggression against a sovereign state."

Venezuelan soldiers stand guard at the Tienditas International Bridge that links Colombia and Venezuela, near Urena, Venezuela, February 8, 2019. Associated Press

Russia has emerged as a staunch backer of Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro as his nation descended into political turmoil this year. The United States and dozens of other nations have backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela's interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Colombia, which supports Guaido, has repeatedly denied it has any intention of launching a military offensive across its border with Venezuela.

But in his statement on Tuesday, Trujillo said military support for Maduro's socialist government risked harming the transition to democracy while threatening regional peace and security.

The March touchdown near Caracas of two Russian air force planes carrying some 100 Russian special forces and cyber-security personnel has raised international concerns about Moscow's backing for Maduro.

Russia, which has supplied fighter jets, tanks, and air defense systems to Venezuela, has dismissed US criticism of its military cooperation with Caracas saying it is not interfering in the Latin American country's internal affairs and poses no threat to regional stability.

An airplane with the Russian flag at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Russian state-owned defense firm Rostec said Monday that it had owned a training center in Venezuela to teach the country's pilots to fly Russian-made Mi-35M helicopters gunships and Russian-made military transport helicopters.

Igor Chechikov, deputy chief executive at Russian Helicopters, told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that all the necessary equipment has been delivered to Venezuela and that construction of the training center should be done by the end of this year.

Colombia acted as a staging ground in February as the United States and other countries supported Guaido's effort to transport hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid into Venezuela. Maduro, who dismisses Guaido as a U.S. puppet, blocked the aid and Venezuelan troops pushed back protesters with tear gas.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled to Colombia to escape widespread food and medicine shortages in their chaotic homeland, seeking jobs locally and passage into other Latin American countries. </s> Venezuela hit back at Colombia on Wednesday branding as fake news claims from its neighbor that helicopters and troops had violated its sovereignty in an illegal incursion.

Venezuela has "no doubts in qualifying" the news as "another false positive," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"There was no incursion of any sort either by air or land," it added.

Colombia had sent a strongly-worded protest to the Venezuelan ambassador on Tuesday over what it claimed was an incursion into its Norte Santander department on Sunday.

"Two helicopters, identified with the initials of the Bolivarian National Guard and about 30 armed personnel belonging to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela" landed in the border region of Tibu, Colombia's foreign ministry said.

The South American neighbors have locked horns in recent years over similar incidents along their 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border, which is crisscrossed by guerrillas and drug traffickers.

The most recent incident was in November last year and also involved the Tibu region.

Colombia's right-wing President Ivan Duque is a vocal critic of far-left Venezuela counterpart Nicolas Maduro and has denounced his "dictatorship."

Earlier this month, Maduro accused Duque's predecessor Juan Manuel Santos of being behind an alleged attempt to assassinate him during a military parade in Caracas.

Colombia has been swamped by a flood of migrants streaming over the border to flee an economic crisis that has left food and medicine shortages following four years of recession.

More than a million Venezuelans have entered Colombia in just the last 16 months.

Maduro, though, accuses his neighbor of sheltering his political opponents.

Following the statement, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Twitter that his country "won't stop its efforts to protect its population and expel from its territory the plague of Colombian violence and drug-trafficking." </s> Nuestra cadena aliada en Colombia, Noticias RCN, reveló un video del momento exacto en el que dos helicópteros militares venezolanos entran en territorio colombiano. Las imágenes hacen parte de las pruebas del Gobierno colombiano, que envió una nota formal de protesta a Venezuela por la violación a la soberanía.

La grabación registra el momento en el que un helicóptero Bell 412 sobrevuela la vereda Vetas de Oriente en zona rural de Tibú, en Norte de Santander, noreste de Colombia.

En el video se aprecia a la aeronave realizar un sobrepaso sobre el lugar. Al fondo se visualiza un segundo helicóptero volando en círculos sobre la zona. Ambos estaban identificados con las siglas de la Guardia Nacional Bolivariana.

Por su parte, en un comunicado el Gobierno venezolano calificó de “falso positivo” la incursión aérea.

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¡Suscríbete a nuestro canal en YouTube aquí: https://www.youtube.com/ntn24! </s> Colombia issued a strong protest Tuesday over what it said was a border incursion by Venezuelan helicopters and troops over the weekend.

The government of President Ivan Duque said it sent a strongly-worded protest to the Venezuelan ambassador over what it claimed was a “violation of Colombia’s sovereignty” in Norte Santander department on Sunday.

“Two helicopters, identified with the initials of the Bolivarian National Guard and about 30 armed personnel belonging to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela” landed in the border region of Tibu, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry said it sent a note “expressing the strongest protest” to the Venezuelan ambassador in Bogota.

The South American neighbors have locked horns in recent years over similar incidents along their 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border crisscrossed by guerrillas and drug traffickers.

The most recent incident was in November last year and also involved the Tibu region.

Like his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos, Duque has branded Venezuela a “dictatorship” under President Nicolas Maduro.

Earlier this month, Maduro accused Santos of being behind an alleged attempt to assassinate him during a military parade in Caracas.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing the economic crisis in their home country have taken refuge in Colombia, which Maduro has also accused of sheltering his opponents.

Colombia urged Peru and Ecuador to coordinate their immigration policies to deal with an influx of Venezuelan migrants. </s> Colombia issued a strong protest Tuesday over what it said was a border incursion by Venezuelan helicopters and troops over the weekend.

The government of President Ivan Duque said it sent a strongly-worded protest to the Venezuelan ambassador over what it claimed was a "violation of Colombia's sovereignty" in Norte Santander department on Sunday.

"Two helicopters, identified with the initials of the Bolivarian National Guard and about 30 armed personnel belonging to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela" landed in the border region of Tibu, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry said it sent a note "expressing the strongest protest" to the Venezuelan ambassador in Bogota.

The South American neighbors have locked horns in recent years over similar incidents along their 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border crisscrossed by guerrillas and drug traffickers.

The most recent incident was in November last year and also involved the Tibu region.

Like his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos, Duque has branded Venezuela a "dictatorship" under President Nicolas Maduro.

Earlier this month, Maduro accused Santos of being behind an alleged attempt to assassinate him during a military parade in Caracas.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing the economic crisis in their home country have taken refuge in Colombia, which Maduro has also accused of sheltering his opponents.

Colombia urged Peru and Ecuador to coordinate their immigration policies to deal with an influx of Venezuelan migrants. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A stolen police helicopter fired on Venezuela’s Supreme Court and Interior Ministry in what President Nicolas Maduro said was a thwarted “terrorist attack” aimed at ousting him from power.

The confusing exchange, which is bound to ratchet up tensions in a country already paralyzed by months of deadly anti-government protests, took place as Maduro was speaking live on state television Tuesday. He later said the helicopter had fired on the pro-government court with grenades, one of which didn’t go off, helping avoid any loss of life.

Adding to the intrigue, pictures of a blue police helicopter carrying an anti-government banner appeared on social media around the same time as a video in which an alleged police pilot, identified as Oscar Perez, called for a rebellion against Maduro’s “tyranny” as part of a coalition of members of the country’s security forces. Authorities said they were still searching for the man.

“We have two choices: be judged tomorrow by our conscience and the people or begin today to free ourselves from this corrupt government,” the man said while reading from a statement with four people dressed in military fatigues, ski masks and carrying what looked like assault rifles standing behind him.

Maduro sounded alternately calm and angry as he told the audience about what had happened in the airspace just beyond the presidential palace where they were gathered.

“It could’ve caused a tragedy with several dozen dead and injured,” he said.

Later, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read a statement from the government accusing the helicopter of firing 15 shots against the Interior Ministry as a reception was taking place for 80 people celebrating national journalist’s day. It then flew a short distance to the court, which was in session, and launched what he said were four Israeli-made grenades of “Colombian origin,” two of them against national guardsmen protecting the building.

The pro-government president of the high court said there were no injuries from the attack and that the area was still being surveyed for damages.

Villegas said security forces were being deployed to apprehend Perez as well as recover the heisted German-built Bolkow helicopter. Photos of the pilot standing in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter were displayed on state television to further bolster the government’s case that he was taking instructions from the CIA and the U.S. Embassy.

Meanwhile, many of Maduro’s opponents took to social media to accuse the president of orchestrating an elaborate ruse to justify a crackdown against Venezuelans seeking to block his plans to rewrite the constitution. Venezuela has been roiled by anti-government protests the past three months that have left at least 75 people dead and hundreds injured.

Maduro said one of the pilots involved in the alleged attack used to fly for his former Interior Minister, Miguel Rodriguez Torres, who he accused of working for the CIA. Rodriguez Torres, who has been leading a campaign against Maduro made up of leftist supporters of the late Hugo Chavez, immediately dismissed the accusation as baseless.

The helicopter incident capped a volatile 24 hours that began with widespread looting in the coastal city of Maracay on Monday night and continued Tuesday when opposition lawmakers got into a heated scuffle with security forces assigned to protect the National Assembly.

At least 68 supermarkets, pharmacies and liquor stores were looted and several government offices burned following anti-government protests in Maracay, which is about a 90 minute drive from Caracas.

Maduro condemned the violence but with a stern warning to his opponents that’s likely to only further inflame an already tense situation.

“We will never surrender. And what we couldn’t accomplish through votes we will with weapons,” he said.

On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers got into fisticuffs with national guardsmen as they tried to enter the National Assembly. In a video circulating on social media, the commander of a national guard unit protecting the legislature aggressively shoved National Assembly President Julio Borges as he’s walking away from a heated discussion.

At nightfall, a few dozen people were still gathered inside the neoclassical building as pro-government supporters stood outside threatening violence. </s> Colombia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Venezuelan helicopters and soldiers illegally crossed the two countries’ border amid ongoing tensions.

In a press release, the Colombian foreign ministry said that two military police helicopters on Sunday dropped some 30 armed soldiers in Tibu, a municipality on the northern half of the country’s 1,300-mile border.

The unannounced cross-border operation was a “violation of the sovereignty of Colombia,” the foreign ministry said.

The alleged incursion in the virtually lawless border region between the two countries is the first since President Ivan Duque took office earlier this month.

At the instruction of the president, the foreign ministry, a letter expressing “the most energetic protest” was sent to Venezuela’s embassy in Bogota.

While this would be the first illegal cross-border operation for Duque, it is by far not the first in recent history.

Former President Juan Manuel Santos on multiple occasions claimed that Venezuelan armed forces entered Colombian territory without permission, often in areas where the countries are separated by shifting rivers.

Alleged incursions like the one on Sunday are particularly sensitive now that tensions between the two countries is high.

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has converted the country into a virtual one-party state and has claimed the Colombian government has been involved in plots to either topple or assassinate him.

At the same time, food and medicine shortages in Colombia’s socialist-run neighbor has spurred a mass exodus of Venezuelans to neighboring countries.

Like Venezuela, Colombia has also not taken the exact location of their neighbors’ borders too seriously.

Ecuadorean courts are currently investigating top former military officials from Colombia for a 2008 cross-border bombing raid that killed a prominent Colombian guerrilla leader who was hiding in the jungle on the Ecuadorean side of the border.

was last modified: by </s> The Pentagon has posted images of the interception of one of its reconnaissance aircraft by a Venezuelan military aviation aircraft over the Caribbean Sea.

According to the US Department of Defense, a Venezuelan Su-30 fighter intercepted an American Navy Aries II EP-3 in international airspace “in an unprofessional manner” and ” aggressively tracked ” an “unsafe distance” for the crew and the aircraft.

Showing images of the incident, the US Army said on Sunday that the interception occurred on July 19 on the Caribbean Sea.

In a statement, Washington accuses Russia of the incident because the Russian-made hunt, and claims that this action demonstrates Russia’s irresponsible military support to the Nicolas Maduro government.

“This demonstrates action #Russia’s military irresponsible to support illegitimate system’s of Maduro & underscores’s recklessness & irresponsible behavior, Which rule of law undermines Int’l & efforts to counter illicit trafficking,” the US Southern Command said in a delusional tweet.

However, these fighters were acquired in the mid-2000s, under the presidency of Hugo Chavez.

The Venezuelan government reported that it had responded to an “incursion of a US reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft” (capable of interfering with communication systems), which violated the national airspace in a “frank provocation to the country” near Caracas .

Images of the incident were also shared by the Venezuelan military . During the interception, there was no physical contact between aircraft.

According to the information presented on the website of the Venezuelan government, an American EP-3E ARIES II radio-electronic intelligence and exploration aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace.

According to Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, the US aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace “without an aeronautical frequency report … constituting an aircraft risk for other aircraft.”

In addition, during a televised ceremony the minister explained that “things like this happen almost every day” in the Venezuelan seas and skies.

Caracas has 24 Su-30 fighters purchased from Russia and plans to acquire another 12 units under the military-technical cooperation with Moscow. </s> A Venezuelan fighter jet “aggressively shadowed” an American intelligence plane in international airspace, according to US authorities who on Sunday blamed Russia’s “irresponsible military support” of the “illegitimate regime.”

The US military on Sunday released video and still images that it says shows the SU-30 Flanker “at an unsafe distance” from a US EP-3 aircraft, “jeopardizing the crew & aircraft” over the Caribbean sea.

It happened Friday — the same day that the Trump administration announced it was sanctioning four top officials in Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency.

The US Southern Command insisted that the US plane was targeted while it was “performing a multi-nationally recognized & approved mission in international airspace” over the Caribbean.

The military said in a statement that the “Russian-made fighter aggressively shadowed the EP-3 at an unsafe distance in international airspace for a prolonged period of time, endangering the safety of the crew and jeopardizing the EP-3 mission.”

In a series of two posts on Twitter, the southern command, which oversees military activities in the Caribbean, also attacked Vladimir Putin for supporting Venezuala’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.

“This action demonstrates #Russia’s irresponsible military support to Maduro’s illegitimate regime & underscores Maduro’s recklessness & irresponsible behavior, which undermines int’l rule of law & efforts to counter illicit trafficking,” it tweeted.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez says the US plane entered Venezuelan airspace without prior notification and endangered commercial flights from the country’s main airport.
In response to the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard's armed infiltration of Norte de Santander, Colombia four days ago, Venezuela releases a statement calling it "supposed" and "fake news", despite clear video of Venezuelan helicopters in Colombian territory.