Venezuela: Border open, FARC in UPDATED

Emili Blasco, author of Boomerang Chavez: The Fraud That Led to Venezuela’s Collapse (which I highly recommend), writes at Spain’s ABC, Abierta la frontera porque las FARC ya prepararon su retaguardia [Border opened since FARC has its backup ready] (my translation),

√ Maduro’s decision to open the crossings with Colombia shows that the peace accord announcement is ready

√ The guerrilla could have used the “border truce” to leave men and weapons in Venezuela

√ The verification of the existence of cocaine labs in Venezuela shows that the guerrilla wants to keep its business

Until recently, cocaine was not processed in Venezuela, but the DEA confirmed that now it is. Blasco also writes that the above information was later confirmed by an on-location report from journalist Dámaso Jiménez, writing at Vértice, who quotes indigenous people’s testimony regarding the Venezuelan military’s activities in the Sierra de Perijá:

“We  fear that, following the signing of the Colombian peace agreement, much of Venezuela’s land may be occupied by FARC and ELN militants with the support of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.”

In other Venezuelan news, Carlos Eire found that the New York Times has some unkind things to say about Cubazuela, namely, A Looming Clash in Venezuela,

Venezuela’s electoral commission signaled last week that a referendum that could oust President Nicolás Maduro will not be held before the end of the year. That was hardly a surprise, but it puts Venezuela on a dangerous — and avoidable — collision course.

It may be avoidable, if the government was interested in hearing what the people have to say.

But it is not.

Instead, any acts of civil disobedience will be punished with more repression.

UPDATE
Venezuela News & Views had reported on the FARC-Vz corridor in 2012, The building up of a FARC/drug corridor in Venezuela and 2013 Nelson Bocaranda confirms what this blog wrote in November 2012. Must-read each.