[ad_1]
The Colombian Navya said this Saturday that three artillery and unmanned launches that were lost on the border Meta river were washed away by the current and reached Venezuela, country with which your return is managed.
According to a statement from the Armed the three boats, who were at a river checkpoint “tied to the shore of the Meta river, at Vichada department, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border (…) they were swept away by the current at dawn today. “
This morning the Venezuelan Armed Forces reported that three battle boats with emblems of the Colombian Navy, who were “in a state of neglect” and unmanned on a bank of the Orinoco River, in the southern state of Bolívar.
According to the Venezuelan version, the speedboats, model Evinrude of the American manufacturer Boston Wheeler, are armed “with .50 and M60 caliber machine guns“
The Colombian Navy He detailed in the statement that the sentry in charge of the safety of the boats realized this morning that, due to the effects of the strong fluvial current, the boats were “dragged by the river, without having the opportunity to recover them.”
Also read: While Brazil exceeds 10,000 dead, Bolsonaro rides a jet ski
Due to the mishap, the displacement of members of the Naval Force of the East was ordered “for the recovery of the boats, but given the proximity to Venezuela they were taken by the river entering the territory of this country, which prevented the Colombian units their search and rescue “.
The situation with Colombian speedboats occurs a week after the government of Nicolás Maduro said that it frustrated two maritime incursions in the coastal states of La Guaira and Aragua, for which it accused the opposition and the governments of Colombia and the United States.
Read also: Colombian Caribbean would be affected by cloud with dust from the Sahara desert
To retrieve the boats, the Oriente Naval Force contacted the Venezuelan Navy Naval Post in Puerto Páez, from where “they expressed their willingness to support, informing that they would carry out the location of the vessels and the corresponding delivery” when they have authorization of the upper command.
The Meta River is one of the great tributaries of the Orinoco, the most important river in Venezuela, and the fourth longest in South America. 65% of the surface of its basin is located in Venezuela, while the remaining 35% is in Colombian territory.
The incident occurred near Puerto Carreño, capital of the Colombian department of Vichada, where the Meta flows into the Orinoco.
Colombia and Venezuela have not had diplomatic relations since February 23, 2019 when Maduro broke them after the failed attempt by the president of the National Assembly and the president “in charge” of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, to lead a humanitarian aid caravan that left from the Colombian city of Cúcuta with the intention of crossing the border. EFE
