A deserter from the Chavan army: "There are thousands of soldiers opposed to Maduro, but they are afraid"

The border between Venezuela and Colombia has become a center of international tension. On the side of Cúcuta, the trucks are trying to enter with humanitarian aid and, on the other hand, the armed forces of Chavez prevent their progression. However, the support of the army to Nicolás Maduro's regime is in free fall but, as a deserter has explained to TN, "They are afraid to leave the ranks."

In this scenario marked by violence, translated into clashes and deaths – four deadly casualties have been recorded – soldiers who respond to the Maduro government are also at a crossroads. According to the Colombian Immigration Department, the army and police, whose rank was not specified, entered mainly through the northern border of Santander with the Venezuelan state of Táchira.

"Up to now, Migración Colombia has served just over 100 members of the Venezuelan armed forces, who have left their country, escape the dictatorship of Maduro", said Colombia.

In dialogue with TNJhackson José Nieto Sayago, a military deserter from the Bolivarian Guard, told his story and told how the Chávez government had been hit hard and said the fear of his life was a shared feeling among his comrades.

"I deserted a year ago (two months before the last presidential elections) .Now, when I saw my colleagues who went to Colombia, I saw a very sad situation." , he said during a conversation with TN, in the hot border.

According to Nieto Sayago, "the armed forces do not recognize Maduro" for a long time. "Some soldiers do not agree with him but fear to attack his family," he said. The fear is not a sensation: in Venezuela, they fear the Bolivarian intelligence service Sebin. "For example, as I speak here, I can receive Sebin's visit at home and, as always, carry out a crackdown on his family," he said.

To contextualize his fear, he argued that "Recently, we even saw a video of a police officer who tortured the family."

A desertion, live

While the team TN He recorded the tension at the border crossing, another soldier decided to surrender to the Colombian forces and leave Chavez's ranks. "He crossed one of the uncontrolled markets, among the vegetation," said Carolina Amoroso, the journalist for the media instead. "He is an effective member of the Bolivarian National Guard," he said.

Fire and chaos

While self-proclaimed President Juan Guaidó was attempting to organize the entry of humanitarian aid to Venezuela through the border, the Bolivarian National Guard was doing everything it could to avoid it. In fact, some of the trucks that brought food and medicine from Colombia to the Caribbean country they were burned by the security forces. Hundreds of Venezuelans have tried to save dozens of boxes.

Fernando Flores, a witness who has introduced himself as an Ecuadorian legislator, said the National Guards of President Maduro's government They set the fire to trucks when they crossed into Venezuelan territory.