Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared an “orange alert” last Tuesday in the states that border with Colombia due to the threat of military aggression by the neighboring country. An orange alert means that the Venezuelan army must be at the ready against aggression from the neighboring country, waiting for the call to arms.

“We know that there is an attempt to try to stage a set of false flag operations… the government of Colombia… now intends to maneuver a false flag operation to attack Venezuela and start a military conflict against our country,” Maduro announced during the commemoration of the IX Anniversary of the Bolivarian Military University.

The president explained that the Colombian government, led by far-right Ivan Duque, “wants to accuse Venezuela of being the cause of a war in Colombia that is 70 years old,” in reference to the unfounded accusations about links of his government with the recent  Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissidents.

Maduro also ordered a military exercise called “Peace and Sovereignty” to begin on Sept. 10 until Sept. 28 in the states Zulia, Tachira Apure, and Amazonas, territories that make up the 2,219 kilometers border that Venezuela shares with Colombia.