US and Venezuela negotiating a status-of-forces agreement for American troops, sources say

The United States is negotiating with Venezuela an agreement on the status of American troops in the country, which could support a long-term presence. The information was brought to light on Tuesday, November 3, by the New York Times, citing US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The State Department, headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is leading the talks. The subject is a status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), which would create a “legal framework” for activities of American forces that would be jointly agreed. The list includes ship visits, training, military exercises and humanitarian aid. The number of troops and locations would be set in future agreements.

Bases remain a distant prospect

A senior State Department official called the creation of US military bases in Venezuela a matter of the very distant future and said there are no current talks on the subject. The US carried out a military operation in Venezuela on January 3 and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Donald Trump had said his administration would “run” the country and its oil reserves during the transition, while the then vice president Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president on January 5 before the National Assembly.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has recently deployed more than 600 troops in Latin America to fight cartels and is conducting joint exercises in Panama with the armies of Colombia, Honduras and other countries, the New York Times reported.

The strike on the ELN in Apure

The discussion of an American presence comes days after the strike in Apure state, near the border with Colombia. Before dawn on Friday, October 30, the Venezuelan army hit an ELN camp with drones and attack helicopters. At least 19 people were killed, according to a military source and the organisation FundaRedes, which documents rights violations in border regions. A Venezuelan serviceman who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity claimed the operation was backed by the CIA and FBI, while the State Department and the Venezuelan government had not initially responded to requests for comment. For more, see our report on the strike on the ELN camp.

The roughly 2,200-kilometre Venezuela-Colombia border is a theatre for armed groups living off drugs, illegal mining and smuggling. Colombia’s president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella sent the army to Cúcuta, on the border with Venezuela, while since the 2016 peace deal with the FARC the ELN is considered Latin America’s strongest guerrilla organisation.