Video: Nicolás Maduro “ guitar ” with Steven Seagal, as Venezuelan borders burn

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met the American actor on Tuesday Steven seagal, special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. During the meeting broadcast on state television at the presidential palace in Caracas, the famous actor and seventh dan in the Japanese martial art of “aikido” gave a samurai sword to Maduro, who in turn presented Seagal with a guitar. They also shared a brief musical moment with the instrument.

The Venezuelan president wielded it and joked, performing several simple combat-style moves with a katana. It is not known since when the 68-year-old actor has been in the South American country, which with films such as “Besieged“(1992) and”Exit injuries(2001) cemented his career in American action cinema.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in 2018, he appointed Seagal as a “special representative” to the United States. Seagal – descendant of Russian Jewish immigrant paternal grandparents – as a representative of the Kremlin seeks to facilitate relations between Washington and Moscow in humanitarian matters, cultural and artistic exchanges.

Frontier at war

The Venezuelan government recently confirmed that it had created a special military command in an area bordering Colombia, where there were clashes with illegal armed groups in which eight soldiers died; have been reported since mid-March clashes with irregular groups linked to paramilitaries, rebels dissident of Colombian government agreements with guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or with members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), as reported by specialists and human rights groups.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino has said that the so-called Integral Defense Operational Zone or Zodi will be temporary and will operate in Apure State, and where they occurred. the fighting since March 21. Padrino did not give details on the number of soldiers that will make up this new unit and only added that he would have all the equipment and men he would need to serve at least three of the seven municipalities of Apure in which restrictions on transport and trading hours will apply. .

He added that to date, eight Venezuelan soldiers have died, 34 have been wounded, while nine members of these illegal groups have been killed and 33 are facing prosecution. At least 5,000 inhabitants of the city of La Victoria, in Hurry, fled the area to Arauquita, in the Colombian department of Arauca. Minister Padrino said the official Venezuelan census listed 3,500 displaced people.

“We are going to clean it up completely, from start to finish, centimeter by centimeter (…) our commander-in-chief has ordered the activation of a special operational zone of temporary integral defense”, declared the minister. Godfather added that Venezuela already sent letters to The United Nations to seek their assistance in mine clearance in the border region, which has traditionally been the scene of drug, human and smuggling trafficking, among other crimes. Colombia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that armed clashes in the border area of ​​Arauca and Apure “seriously affect the lives of the civilian population and have forced families to abandon their homes and belongings.”

THE NATION