Bolivarian National Guard Vehicle Burnt by Hooded Militants in Tachira State

Caracas, May 21st 2015 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Three soldiers from the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) in Tachira state were left hospitalised on Wednesday after the vehicle they were travelling in was torched by hooded militants.

According to reports, the attack took place at around 11am on the campus of the National Experimental University of Tachira (UNET), which has become a hotbed for subversive anti-government activity over the past year. The perpetrators had allegedly attempted to barricade the surrounding access roads as part of a “protest” for unknown reasons, according to accounts on Twitter. 

“These are cowardly acts carried out by presumed students in a premeditated fashion and without out any regard for the consequences, they destroyed this military unit that was patrolling the zone,” confirmed the head of Citizen Security for the Bolivarian government in Tachira, Ramon Cabeza, before adding that that the attack was carried out with a “cold, terrorist attitude”. 

Last weekend over 3000 agents from the Public Prosecutor’s office were deployed across Tachira state as part of a special operation aimed at ensuring citizen security in the area. A total of thirty seven people were arrested as part of the manoeuvre. 

Since 2013, the border state of Tachira has become a prime site for violent confrontations between national security forces and anti-government insurrectionists intent on unseating the country’s elected Bolivarian government. 

In March, a group of UNET students were also alleged to have attempted to burn down a local installation of the state-run Bolivarian University of Venezuela. The arson attack followed on from an attempt to torch the Tachira branch of the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA) in 2014.