Colombia–Venezuela Tensions Escalate as US, Allies Trigger Regional Pact

Carlos Holmes Trujillo (L), Colombia’s foreign affairs minister, and Julio Borges, commissioner for foreign affairs appointed by Venezuela’s head of congress Juan Guaido—who has declared himself Venezuelan president with support from 50 countries—hold a joint press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on Aug. 30, 2019. Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

BOGOTA, Colombia—Tensions have escalated between Colombia and neighboring Venezuela following the invocation of a regional defense pact by the United States and other Latin American allies that would support Colombia in the case of a regional conflict.

The United States and other signatories triggered the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) on Sept. 11 after a number of bellicose exchanges between Venezuela and Colombia, including an announcement from Venezuelan regime leader Nicolás Maduro that he would be sending 150,000 troops to the Colombian border.