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.
“We’ve been to every coordinate offered by the Colombian government,” el Aissami added.