By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA (Reuters) – About 1,900 fighters belonging to Colombian rebel and crime groups are operating from Venezuela, where they plan attacks and participate in drug trafficking, the commander of Colombia’s armed forces said.

Since long, the Colombian government claims that Venezuelan leadership allows for safe harbour to Colombian rebel and crime groups. This permits them to traffick cocaine in return for a share of the profit.

It is the first time that the military has provided a number for those it thinks are operating in the neighbouring country.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s President has repeatedly denied providing safe harbour for drug traffickers. However, he expressed his sympathy for the leftist ideology of rebels and has openly accepted some guerrilla leaders.

About half the 2350 combatants of the National Liberation Army rebel group are currently in Venezuela. A third of 2,400 fighters belong to dissident organizations of former FARC guerrillas, which rejected a 2016 ceasefire, General Luis Fernando Navarro said late Wednesday.

“In the states of Zulia and Tachira and Apure in Venezuela, we estimate that there may be anywhere from 1,100 to 1,200 criminals belonging to the ELN, and 700 dissidents from FARC,” Navarro stated.

The strategic rearguard for these structures, which are strategically located at the border of Venezuelan states is a source of instability. “This clearly makes it difficult for them to combat,” stated Navarro. The Venezuelan armed forces were accused of not pursuing those groups.

This story was not confirmed by the Venezuelan government.

Colombia has been ravaged by internal conflicts for almost 60 years, resulting in more than 260,000 casualties.

Although the FARC was demobilized under the 2016 agreement, violence has decreased in some areas. However, dissidents and the ELN, as well as crime gangs derived from paramilitaries, continue to fight for control of territory.

Violence often crosses borders. The Reuters Report earlier this year found that a Venezuelan state in northwestern Zulia paid villagers and children money to help with narcotics operations and extortion.

Navarro claimed that around 80 Venezuelans support FARC dissidents, while 180 are part of the ELN.

Segunda Marquetalia commanders, which includes former peace negotiator Ivan Marquez (Hernan Dario Velasquez), Henry Castellanos and Gustavo Anibal Giraldo (ELN leader), are currently living in Venezuela.

Navarro explained that these groups are known to attack targets in Colombia before escaping authorities by melting across the border.

A dissident FARC group took responsibility for the two June incidents: the bombing and shooting at the helicopter that carried President Ivan Duque.