110 Chapter 2
MID#2323
Dispute Number: 2323
Date(s): July 13, 1982 to July 24, 1982
Participants: 101 Venezuela/100 Colombia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Several incidents related to a dispute over an offshore oil area between
Venezuela and Colombia in 1982. On July 13, a Venezuelan military helicopter fired
on a group of smugglers in the disputed area. Eleven days later another helicopter
overflew a Colombian army garrison, and the Colombian military responded with
defensive actions, forcing the helicopter back across the border.
MID#2812
Dispute Number: 2812
Date(s): August 9, 1987 to September 6, 1987
Participants: 100 Colombia/101 Venezuela
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: On August 13, 1987, Venezuela protested the presence of a Colombian
warship in the Gulf of Venezuela, which it considered to be its territorial waters.
Venezuela closed its borders to Colombia on September 2, and Colombia accused
Venezuelan jets of violating its airspace the next day.
On September 5, Venezuelan guards crossed the Colombian border to pursue
a car and fired on it. All six occupants died when the car crashed and caught fire.
However, it was unclear whether the occupants were Colombian or Venezuelan
civilians, and Colombia did not protest the attack. Various shows of force and cross-
border tensions were unexpected over a maritime dispute that had been dormant for
30 years.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from August 13, 1987. End Date changed from
September 5, 1987.
MID#2768
Dispute Number: 2768
Date(s): August 8, 1988 to August 14, 1988
Participants: 100 Colombia/101 Venezuela
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Around August 8, 1988, per a report filed on August 15, an incident
occurred on the Orinoco River, where it was alleged a Venezuelan border official or
guardsmen attacked an indigenous Colombian citizen. That citizen was reported as
still missing by the time of the report. Two days later Venezuelan military personnel
fired upon a boat carrying three Colombian citizens in the Arauca River. Two of the
three Colombian citizens were killed in that attack. Forty-eight hours later, on August