Colombia and Venezuela - Joining Forces
Colombia and Venezuela - Joining Forces
By Constanza Vieira and Humberto Márquez
BOGOTÁ/CARACAS, May 25, 2012 (IPS) - When 12 Colombian soldiers were killed by FARC insurgents a stone's throw away from the northern border with Venezuela, the consequences included military cooperation that reinforces the political, diplomatic and trade-related links that have developed over the past two years between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Santos said that after the attack on Monday he spoke to Chávez, who immediately "ordered the deployment of two brigades to the border zone, with instructions to try to locate" the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) column that attacked a Colombian army unit.
"If they manage to find them, they will capture them. If they resist, they will open fire. They will shoot them down," Santos said.
He said Chávez told him over the phone, "Our position is the same as it has been since you and I restored dialogue (in August 2010, when Santos took office as president) and we began our cooperation: we will not tolerate incursions by any illegal armed force, whatever its nature, into Venezuelan territory."
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