Colombian president Ivan Duque responded to a flurry of vitriol launched at his country from Maduro and other regime officials recently, and denied allegations that Colombia posed a military threat to Venezuela.
Speaking from Barranquilla, Duque said that Colombia “does not threaten anyone”, and that the country “always respects the territorial integrity of other nations”. On the fact that Maduro will deploy anti-air missile systems to the Colombian border, Duque said:
It’d be better if, instead of spending money on missiles, [Maduro] would spend money helping the Venezuelan people and providing them with food.
Tensions between Caracas and Bogota have been high since Ivan Marquez, a leader of the Colombian Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), declared last week that he was taking up arms against the government once more, threatening to shatter the 2016 peace accords. Historically, the FARC has counted on the support of the Chavez and Maduro governments.
Just yesterday, PSUV vice president Diosdado Cabello said that the FARC and other Colombian guerrilla groups had “lots of reasons to do what they’re doing”, and accused the Colombian government of failing to deliver on promises that it has made to the groups.
Duque also reiterated that his government would “not fall” for Maduro’s provocations.
National Assembly: Inflation Hits 65.2% in August
The National Assembly’s Finance Committee announced today that the inflation rate for August hit 65.2%, putting the accumulation rate for the year reached 2,674%.
Angel Alvarado, a member of the committee, said that at the same time, the national economy had shrunk by 43% when compared to the first trimester of 2018.
Alvarado also said that the high inflation and collapsed economy mean that Venezuelans are now earning the lowest salaries in the country’s history. At the current black market exchange rate, a Venezuelan worker earning the minimum monthly salary takes approximately $2 home with every paycheque.
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