STORY: :: Cucuta, Colombia
:: January 3, 2026
:: Colombian soldiers patrol Cucuta on the border with Venezuela hours after the U.S. attack on Caracas
:: President Gustavo Petro said the Unified Command Post (UCP) had been activated, 'and the operational plan is in place at the border'
President Gustavo Petro in a post on X called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and the Organization of American States (OAS) and said the Unified Command Post (UCP) had been activated in Cucuta, "and the operational plan is in place at the border."
Ahead of the overnight strikes, the U.S. had accused President Nicolas Maduro of running a "narco-state" and rigging the 2024 election, which the opposition said it won overwhelmingly.
The U.S. has not made such a direct intervention in its backyard region since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago to depose military leader Manuel Noriega over similar allegations.
