May 6, 2021
Since late March, battle-tested Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) combatants have defied Venezuela and knocked its military on its heels. There are two important lessons to draw from these recent armed clashes between FARC fighters and Venezuelan armed forces on the border with Colombia. One lesson is for the Maduro regime and the other for those who have expressed interest in replacing it.
Ironically, both Venezuelan parties are prone to underestimating the FARC, a lesson that was hard learned on the Colombian side of the border. The armed encounters have served as an abrupt wake-up call for Nicolás Maduro and his supporters. Violent clashes have continued into a second month, underscoring that the regime was caught off-balance.