Venezuela to Send More Troops to Colombian Border

www.voanews.com VOA News 13 Mar 2003, 20:39 UTC

Venezuela's army says it plans to send more troops to the border with Colombia, where Colombian rebel groups are believed to operate.

Army General Warrikc Blanco said Thursday, the plans call for reinforcing the five-thousand soldiers already patrolling the country's northwestern border.

The statements come one day after a Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that rebel groups have set up bases inside Venezuela. The newspaper said leftist Colombian guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries are both active in Venezuela.

Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Relations, Roy Chaderton, denied the report on Wednesday, calling it totally false. He said the government has received no information to support the claims.

Colombia has been torn apart by a 39-year civil war that pits the rebels, paramilitaries and the government against each other. Some 3,500 people, mainly civilians, are killed in the fighting each year.