The guerrilla presence along the Colombia-Venezuela border will be discussed during upcoming meetings between the two governments, reported Radio Caracol Thursday.
The discussions, in which defense ministers of both countries will participate, will also include the encroachment of neo-paramilitary groups into Venezuelan territory.
The engagement is scheduled for Febuary 10 and will take place in the Venezuelan border state of Tachira, where the director of police recently spoke of 20 deaths, describing neo-paramilitary activity as “a real ongoing slaughter.”
Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon aims to reach agreement on closing down the space in which guerrilla groups are operating, especially in the Colombian departments of Arauca and Norte de Santander.
The meeting will be the first time Pinzon and recently-appointed Venezuelan Defence Minister General Henry Rangel have come face to face.
Rangel’s appointment this month sparked controversy over his apparent links to FARC supreme leader “Timochenko.”
The United States government last week expressed “concern” over the appointment of Rangel, whom it has listed since 2008 as having drug trafficking and FARC ties.
