Colombia Reports

U.S. ambassador to Bogota, William Brownfield, on Monday reiterated his government's willingness to help improve Colombia's relation with Venezuela that are at a low because of a recently signed military pact between the U.S. and Colombia.

However, the U.S. is not willing to withdraw its military pact with Colombia, which has infuriated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who considers an increase of U.S. military presence in Colombia a threat to the stability of the region.

According to Brownfield, Venezuela should not worry about the military agreement that allows the U.S. to freely use Colombian military bases and civilian airports.

"For the umpteenth time ... This agreement is not new ... the purpose of this pact is to increase bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia to fight drug trafficking and terrorism in Colombia and poses no threat to any country in the world," Brownfield said.

Venezuela accuses the U.S. of seeking to destabilize its leftist government and has frozen all diplomatic ties with Colombia. Trade between the two countries dropped 57 percent in October following the diplomatic crisis.

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