Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos will speak with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez about the presence of armed groups FARC and ELN in Venezuela, reported Caracol Radio Wednesday.
Minister of Defense Rodrigo Rivera recently stated that Venezuela is not a sanctuary for members of armed guerrilla groups. Rivera’s remarks follow comments by Colombia’s Armed Forces commander Admiral Edgar Cely, who on Sunday said that the FARC and ELN are still hiding from Colombian authorities in the neighboring country. According to the Armed Forces chief, this has not changed since former President Alvaro Uribe accused his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez of harboring terrorists.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the Colombian government’s clarification to statements made by the commander of the Armed Forces on the alleged presence of the guerrillas of the FARC and ELN guerrillas in Venezuelan territory are “very important.”
“We are awaiting clarification regarding strange statements that came from Colombia’s senior military chief,” said Chavez.
Santos, who has maintained that Venezuela and Colombia are working together to capture and extradite members of armed groups, will address this issue with Chavez.