Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido rejected allegations on Friday that he has ties to an illegal armed group in Colombia, as officials launched an investigation based on photos appearing in social media purportedly showing him posing with members of the gang.
The pictures were allegedly taken in late February when Guaido crossed into Colombia and made a surprise appearance at a concert organised by billionaire Richard Branson aimed at helping deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela.
Speaking at an event organised by the opposition Democratic Action party in Caracas, Guaido said: "We do not ask for people's background when they take a photo."
Government officials loyal to President Nicolas Maduro say the photos are proof that Guaido's covert journey was orchestrated with the help of a criminal gang known as the Rastrojos, an accusation he denies.
Tensions between Colombia and Venezuela
The spat over the pictures comes amid escalating tensions between Colombia and Venezuela.
Relations between the neighbouring countries have been souring for months amid the bitter power struggle and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
In recent weeks, Colombian President Iván Duque and Maduro have accused each another of harbouring illegal armed groups and plotting cross-border attacks.
Maduro's Interior Minister Nestor Reverol appeared on state television Friday laying out evidence for a new probe into Guaido, displaying images at the center of the controversy.
"All this evidence proves the direct linkage of Guaidó with the top leaders of this Colombian paramilitary organisation," Reverol said of the images.
He said these actions were aimed "to undermine democratic stability and peace" in the country.
Gen. Luis Fernando Navarro, the commander of Colombia's military, confirmed to local media Friday that two of the men seen in the photos with Guaido are members of the Rastrojos who have now been captured.
The photos show both men posing individually with Guaido before a wooded background.
Navarro identified one of the men as Albeiro Lobo Quintero, alias Brother, and the other as Jhon Jairo Duran, alias Menor.
Quintero allegedly turned himself into Colombian authorities sometime after the photograph was taken, while Duran was captured after being injured in a fight with another criminal group in Venezuela.
Navarro said he couldn't confirm exactly when or where the photos were taken.
Guaido during the Caracas rally said that he is pleased to know both men are no longer free.
"I celebrate their detention," Guaido said.
Colombia and Venezuela share a 2,200-kilometre ( 1,370-mile) border with hundreds of illegal crossings controlled by criminal gangs.
Major drug trafficker
The Rastrojos have been operating in the region for nearly two decades and at one point were considered a major drug trafficker.
However, their numbers are believed to have waned after the capture of several top leaders in 2012.
Tarek William Saab, Venezuela's attorney general and a Maduro ally, took to state TV saying the Rastrojos are one of Colombia's most notorious cartels that deals in drugs, extortion and murder.
Saab announced the opening of the criminal probe, while rejecting Guaido's claim he had no idea who the men were.
"The photo of these criminals with the citizen Guaido confirms the hypothesis that he and those in his surroundings maintain a relationship with these criminal groups," Saab said.
Venezuelan officials have launched four other investigations into Guaido since rising to challenge Maduro.
They include accusations Guaido sparked violent protests and orchestrated a nationwide blackout in March.
Relations between Colombia and Venezuela reached a low point in February when Maduro broke off diplomatic relations after Duque backed Guaido in a failed push to deliver international humanitarian aid across the border.
Tensions spiked again in late August when a former Colombian rebel peace negotiator and a small cadre of dissidents announced they were abandoning the country's historic peace accord and taking up arms again.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's government says Duque is allowing paramilitary camps in Colombia to train armed men and plot attacks against Maduro.
A dozen countries have invoked the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance which allows for a joint response among nations in the Western Hemisphere is any one is threatened.
