Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday that Colombia has activated its public security forces to anticipate and neutralize any attempted terrorist attack by illegal armed groups operating on the border with Venezuela after the United States carried out an air strike against Venezuela.
Following instructions of President Gustavo Petro, the defense minister said the Unified Command Post (PMU) for humanitarian assistance as well as an action plan was activated in northeastern Colombia's border city of Cucuta in order to assist the migrant population and provide all necessary support to those who require it.
The PMU is a cross-departmental collaboration mechanism in Colombia, typically used to respond to major security issues, disasters, or emergencies, including those related to law enforcement, immigration, and natural disasters.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in social media posts on Saturday that Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, was being bombed by missiles. He called on the Organization of American States and the United Nations to hold emergency meetings to discuss the act of aggression against Venezuela. He emphasized that Colombia officially became a member of the UN Security Council on January 2.
Colombia also announced on Saturday the temporary closure of its land borders with Venezuela due to the rising tensions.
Earlier on Saturday, explosions were heard in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, followed by air raid sirens.
Witnesses said multiple explosions took place near military facilities in southern Caracas, and power outages were reported in several areas.
There were also reports of helicopters hovering over Caracas and telecommunications services being disrupted in some areas.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday in a Truth Social post that the United States launched "a large scale strike against Venezuela," saying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.
Over the past months, the United States has maintained a significant military presence in the Caribbean, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier, and about 15,000 troops, much of it off Venezuela's coast, purportedly to combat drug trafficking -- a claim Venezuela has denounced as a thinly veiled attempt to bring about regime change in Caracas.
Colombia tightens security along border with Venezuela
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday launched new year military training across all units, with forces from the army, navy, air force, rocket force, and armed police conducting intensive combat-oriented exercises to boost battlefield readiness.
On the first training day, a brigade of the Army's 79th Group Army conducted integrated combat-oriented training at an outdoor training ground. The troops continuously executed over 10 individual and squad training subjects from the training outline, focusing on enhancing their battlefield adaptability and response capabilities.
Naval forces were also active. Along the coast of the Yellow Sea, the Navy's Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Nanchang, in coordination with destroyer Xining, missile frigate Weifang, and other destroyers and frigates, carried out subjects such as naval gunnery landborne and seaborne target practices, and live firing of anti-frogman lethal rounds. They also conducted fleet air defense exercises in coordination with naval aviation, testing the troops' ability to transition from training to combat.
"Now, there is more combat-oriented training that involves the full process and all elements, aligning with future naval warfare. Whether it's basic training or coordinated training, it is no longer single-subject, single-ship, or single-platform. Now it is system-wide linkage, integration of war and training, and multi-subject fusion, testing the combat effectiveness of the ships under complex conditions," said Fang Wanhao, an officer with a destroyer flotilla of the PLA Navy.
The Air Force, involving multiple branches such as aviation, surface-to-air missile, and radar troops, conducted joint training exercises with multiple aircraft types in realistic battlefield environments to hone their combat skills. The Joint Logistics Support Force's motor transport brigade focused on difficult and critical subjects related to transport and support under extreme cold conditions. By fully integrating real combat scenarios and setting up complex emergency situations, the training aimed to enhance the officers' and soldiers' emergency response capabilities in extreme environments.
On the first training day of the new year, officers and soldiers of the People's Armed Police Yunnan Corps conducted specialized, intensive training for subjects including emergency rescue and counter-terrorism capture and annihilation, adhering to a combat-oriented training philosophy.
The Rocket Force deployed its units across multiple routes and positions, setting up formations on various training grounds. They simultaneously conducted combat-oriented training on difficult and critical subjects such as cross-regional maneuver and rapid fire assault, promoting the efficient integration of personnel with weapons and equipment, and the information network system.
"For the new year's training, we will focus on hard and intensive training closely aligned with operational missions. We will strengthen adversarial testing at extreme boundaries and in complex environments, enhance the support of technological means, and forge the superior skills to be one second faster and one move better than the enemy. We will truly achieve readiness at all times and the ability to fight at any moment, ensuring new breakthroughs in improving the level of combat-oriented training readiness," said Li Zhiyong, a PLA Rocket Force officer.
Chinese People's Liberation Army opens 2026 training season to boost combat readiness
