1,000 Venezuelan Armed Forces Have Fled Across Border, Says Colombian Government

After eight years in Venezuela's National Guard, Lt. Juan Carlos Mora fled to Colombia last month, denounced President Nicolás Maduro and declared his support for Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader now recognized by the U.S. and about 50 other countries as the legitimate head of state. Guaidó "is president and military commander," Mora said in an interview in Cúcuta, a Colombian city near the border with Venezuela. "He is now my boss." Since taking the oath of office in January, Guaidó and U.S. officials have been urging Venezuela's armed forces to withdraw their support for Maduro, arguing that this action would cause his authoritarian regime to quickly collapse. But there has been no broad military uprising inside Venezuela and, rather than a tidal wave of troops fleeing, there's been just a trickle. More…