Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday met with Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff, who promises to combat guerrillas and drug trafficking on the shared border if elected in October.
According to the presidential front-runner, she and Santos “share the idea that border security is crucial. The participation of Brazil in this area must increase,” to avoid Colombian organized crime spreading to the neighboring country, she told reporters.
Rousseff said that she supports Colombia’s stance on fighting leftist guerrilla groups like the FARC and ELN, and would not intervene in peace talks unless Colombia asks for Brazilian support.
“We don’t have reason to participate [in a possible dialogue] unless there is some sort of request from Colombia, because the FARC is not a Brazilian problem,” said the politician.
Rousseff is the official candidate of outgoing President Luiz Iniacio Lula da Silva’s Worker’s Party and leading the polls ahead of the elections.