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Venezuela Gives Colombian Rebels Free Rein The National Liberation Army, or ELN, enjoys sanctuary and criminal spoils thanks to the Maduro regime—which it is expected to serve By Juan Forero | Photographs byStephen Ferry for The Wall Street JournalUpdated July 14, 2019 11:46 am ETLA YUCA, Colombia—At a small navy base here on the Arauca River, Colombian marines have erected camouflage screening so rebel snipers operating from across the river in Venezuela can’t see them to pick them off.“There’s constant tension, there’s a constant risk,†said the base’s commander, Lt. Alejandro Gordillo.The guerrillas of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, have been battling Colombian governments for half a century, but a new advantage is helping them thrive as never before: sanctuary and open support in Venezuela.The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, weakened by U.S. sanctions and diplomatically isolated, is deepening its ties with the ELN, which began as a Cuban-inspired rebel group in the 1960s. Caracas has given the group free rein, U.S. and Colombian authorities say, to become a criminal organization that runs wildcat mines and traffics drugs in Venezuela in exchange for providing muscle for Mr. Maduro’s regime. Read more at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-gives-colombian-rebels-free-rein-11563105600
