BOGOTA, Colombia — More than 300 people have fled Colombia’s volatile Catatumbo region to escape fighting by rebel groups, and have now sought shelter in Cúcuta, a city near the border with Venezuela that was already bracing for a possible influx of refugees.

Colombia will continue to work with the United States to fight drug trafficking using Washington's intelligence and technology, the South American nation said on Monday.

Trump responded that “it sounds good to me” when he was asked directly if the US would carry out military operations against Venezuela’s neighbor.

Colombia’s armed forces are obligated to defend the country's national territory and sovereignty in the event of any potential U.S.

Lea en españolColombia’s dollar bonds fell on Monday as tensions mounted between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart in the South American nation in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s ouster in Venezuela.

President Trump issued a not-so-thinly-veiled threat to Colombia's Gustavo Petro that he will be the next Latin American leader ousted by the U.S. Military.

The silence marks a sharp departure from the widespread and passionate condemnation this weekend of the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Colombia could face its own turmoil from the stunning turn of events both in violence and a mass influx of refugees.