The government of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe used selected computer files of Raúl Reyes, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) killed on March 1, 2008 in Ecuador, to harm his counterparts Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, according to US diplomatic cables leaked by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The US Embassy in Bogotá followed every Colombian government's step, as shown by the cables sent to...

Colombia's Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera visited the Arauca Department on the border with Venezuela to assess security issues in the area, where members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the two main Colombian guerrillas, are still operating. Rivera travelled to Arauca Department with Admiral Edgar Cely, the General Commander of Colombia's Armed Forces; Felipe Muñoz, the director of the Security Administrative...

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe told a U.S. navy admiral that he would allow troops to enter Venezuela to capture FARC guerrillas, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. Uribe said to Admiral Mike Mullen that he was "prepared to authorize Colombian forces to cross into Venezuela, arrest FARC leaders, and bring them to justice in Colombia," according to a cable dated January 18, 2008. In March 2008 Colombia carried out a bombing raid on a FARC camp over the Ecuadorean...

888953 The meeting between the rulers was held in a cordial atmosphere in San Pedro Alejandrino Estate, Santa Marta (Photo: Juan Carlos Solorzano / AFP) The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia, Hugo Chávez and Juan Manuel Santos, respectively, met on August 10 for over four hours in the San Pedro Alejandrino Estate, Santa Marta city, Colombia. After the meeting, the presidents of Venezuela and Colombia agreed to restore relations based on mutual respect. The rulers said they...

The US government hopes that the deal made by Venezuela and Colombia to restore relations results in a "positive solution" to mutual "longstanding" disagreements, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. "We expect this outreach by President (Juan Manuel) Santos and the reception by President (Hugo) Chávez leads to some positive resolution of the longstanding issues," Clinton told reporters after a meeting at the US State Department...

1:54 pm Chávez said at the airport that he went to Colombia to ratify his love. "Long live Colombia! Long live Venezuela! And long live unity between us!" 1:53 pm Chávez: "We will begin here to patiently build what was torn to pieces." 1:50 pm: Chávez: "Coming to Santa Marta is the first wise decision we have made… This is a sacred land." 1:44 pm Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrived in Simón Bolívar...

A ceremony to swear in 12,000 members of the election patrols of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) served as a backdrop for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to announce the suspension of his trip to Cuba, where he was scheduled to participate in the events to commemorate the attack on the Moncada barracks. He attributed his decision to a likely armed attack against Venezuela. In a brief speech, Chávez once again threatened to suspend oil shipments to the...

The Colombian government ruled out on Thursday any deployment of troops on the Venezuelan border as a result of Venezuela's decision to break diplomatic relations. The move on severing ties was announced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez after rejecting a complaint filed by Bogotá at the Organization of American States (OAS) with regard to the alleged presence of Colombian guerrilla members in Venezuelan territory, DPA reported. Caracas' decision was made known to...

The Venezuelan government has set a 72-hour deadline for Colombian diplomats to leave the country, shortly after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Colombia, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro reported on Thursday. "We have sent a diplomatic note to the chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Colombia in Caracas for them to shut their embassy down within 72 hours and leave the country," Maduro said. The Venezuelan Head of...

Luis Alfonso Hoyos, Colombia's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS)," in an extraordinary session of the OAS held in Washington on Thursday said that Venezuela "always insults us and says that we are criminals. We can do much more together than we can do apart or as accomplices of those who kidnap, kill and destroy," Colombian newspaper El Tiempo quoted Hoyos. The Colombian diplomat showed a map with the alleged location of several guerrilla camps in...