Colombia’s foreign minister on Thursday sent a formal letter of protest to the government of Venezuela after troops illegally crossed the Colombian border, Spanish newswire EFE reported Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin sent the letter in a reaction to the incursion of five members of the Venezuelan military on Sunday.
The letter was presented early on Monday and complements a call from the Minister to Venezuela’s ambassador, to express Colombia’s rejection of the situation.
The armed troops allegedly crossed into northeastern Colombia on Sunday by mistake, and were attempting to return to Venezuela when they were stopped and arrested by Colombian police.
MORE: Colombia police arrest Venezuelan troops after illegal border crossing
Local police had been notified by concerned locals, who witnessed the truck containing armed Venezuelan troops crossing the border via the Simon Bolivar International bridge.
Representatives from Colombia migration authorities said the five Venezuelans “entered Colombian territory without realizing that had crossed the border, at a time when conducting an inspection in the town of Ureña in Venezuela.”
All five were handed over to Venezuelan authorities.