The Venezuelan government has found no evidence of illegal armed groups near its border with Colombia, Venezuela’s minister of the interior told reporters Thursday.
“We’ve looked into it, and we’ve found absolutely nothing to indicate the presence of armed groups,” said Tareck el Aissami, Venezuela’s interior minister.
His remarks followed a 10-day investigation that began soon after 12 Colombian soldiers died in an alleged FARC attack near the Venezuelan border, prompting Colombian officials to question whether the guerrillas had crossed over from Venezuela.
On May 24 the Colombian and Venezuela governments recently agreed to send more troops to secure the 1367-mile border. Venezulelan President Hugo Chavez also said he would send forces to areas specified by the Colombian government as possible guerilla encampments.
“We’ve been to every coordinate offered by the Colombian government,” el Aissami added.