Colombia’s ombudsman requested an official report from Venezuelan authorities about the ongoing investigations into the deaths of almost 20 Colombian citizens on Venezuelan soil over the last few months.
Ombudsman Volmar Perez told Caracol Radio that Colombia has not been informed of any developments in the investigations into the deaths.
“We hope that the investigative bodies of the Venezuelan state move forward very fast in their enquiries, and that they establish the origin of these violent deaths and identify those responsible,” Perez said.
Perez added that two deaths of Colombians on Venezuelan soil have been registered in 2010, which worsens the situation of Colombian citizens living on border zones, El Espectador reports.
Perez denounced the murder of a 21-year-old Colombian citizen in the Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro last December.
Another 10 Colombians and a Peruvian, members of an amateur soccer team, were kidnapped and found murdered in a border zone in October last year. One member of the team survived.
Venezuela cut ties with Colombia after the Andean nation signed a military pact with the U.S., allowing the North American country to use seven of its military bases.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the U.S.’s fiercest critic on the continent, considers the pact a threat to national security and has made steps to block his country’s $7 billion annual trade with Colombia, and tighten border security.