Eight Venezuelan soldiers have been killed in clashes with armed groups operating on the Colombian border, doubling the toll since an offensive against the combatants started in March, the defense ministry in Caracas said Wednesday.
The ministry announced the names of the soldiers without providing further detail, two days after it reported fierce fighting with “irregular Colombian armed groups” that resulted in a “significant number” of casualties.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez took to public television to extend the government’s condolences to the families of the soldiers he said were “fulfilling the oath to defend the homeland to their last breath.”
Venezuela’s armed forces have engaged in clashes with Colombian armed groups in the western border state of Apure since March 21, displacing thousands of civilians who fled to Colombia.
The operation has so far resulted in several arrests and the seizure of weapons, explosives, and drugs, according to Caracas.