Venezuelan authorities arrested a commander of guerrilla group ELN, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Monday.
According to Santos, Venezuelan authorities had arrested Nilson Teran Ferreira, alias “Tulio” who in Colombia faces a 40-year prison sentence for kidnapping.
Santos thanked his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez and said the arrest was the result of the increasing cooperation of authorities of both countries.
“We thank President Chavez and the Venezuelan authorities for this increasing cooperation on all fronts, including, as this shows, the security front,” Santos said on the presidential website.
Venezuela and Colombia agreed to strengthen to ties after Santos took office in August. These ties were weak during the administration of Santos’ predecessor Alvaro Uribe, who frequently accused Chavez of harboring terrorists.