NGO says that FARC dissidents kidnapped 6 Venezuelan soldiers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least six Venezuelan military personnel were kidnapped by a group of FARC dissidents, whom they have been fighting since March 21 in the border state of Apure, said this Sunday the NGO Fundaredes.

“Today, we must inform that we are aware of the existence of a video in which the guerrillas show six of the missing (military) troops who are being held hostage. This audiovisual material is in the hands of chiefs of the (Bolivarian National Armed Forces) FANB,” wrote on Twitter, the director of Fundaredes, Javier Tarazona.

Official and military sources have released little information about the fighting in Apure and have not even confirmed which group they are fighting. Initially, they reported the death of eight militaries and nine “terrorists” between March 21 and April 5. Subsequently, new combats broke out in which they reported several deaths but did not detail the number.

According to Tarazona, the FARC dissidents intend to use these kidnapped soldiers “as bargaining chips”.

“For this reason, as a human rights defender, I raise my voice demanding the Venezuelan State to pronounce itself on this situation and to inform the families of the military, no more opacity”, he stressed.

Initially, Fundaredes said it had received information of the disappearance of ten soldiers during the fighting in Apure, bordering the Colombian department of Arauca. They assured that their families “have desperately sought information on their whereabouts and the authorities have denied them”.

For this reason, Tarazona said that the life of these ten soldiers “is the responsibility of the Venezuelan State” and asked that the six who have been reported as kidnapped not be left “abandoned”.

In the absence of official data, Fundaredes has been one of the main sources in the area.

Last April 29, opposition leader Juan Guaidó assured that in the fighting after April 5, nine more Venezuelan military personnel died and provided their names, although no official or military source ratified the information.

So far, the only identification of the armed group that the soldiers are fighting are some photos that have been disseminated. They can be seen with the logos and acronyms of the former FARC guerrillas.