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 Department (DAS); General Gustavo Matamoros, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Rafael Parra, the deputy director of the National Police, Efe reported.

Luis Ataya, the governor of Arauca Department, reported that the cooperation between Colombia and Venezuela to chase guerrilla groups in the region is not working. He added that the situation in the border with Venezuela has not changed in the last few years.

The meetings held in recent months between the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, in which both heads of State committed themselves to strengthen cooperation to chase rebels, "have not produced any results yet," according to Ataya.

"Extreme violence" is also recorded in the departments of La Guajira, Norte de Santander, Vichada and Arauca (also located on the border with Venezuela), the governor of Arauca Department reported.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas

Source:ElUniversal.com