Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejected an appeal by Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro for Colombia's military to join forces with the neighboring country, saying Maduro "has no right to give orders to the military" as U.S. pressure on Caracas intensifies in the Caribbean.
Petro's comments came after Maduro, speaking this week on state television, called on Colombian soldiers to join what he described as a shared defense of sovereignty against external threats. "I call on the people of Colombia, its social movements, its political forces, its military, to a perfect union with Venezuela so no one dares to touch our sovereignty," Maduro said during a nationally broadcast address.
