Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday met with Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff, who promises to combat guerrillas and drug trafficking on the shared border if elected in October. According to the presidential front-runner, she and Santos "share the idea that border security is crucial. The participation of Brazil in this area must increase," to avoid Colombian organized crime spreading to the neighboring country, she told reporters. Rousseff said...

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 decided...

A car packed with at least 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of explosives blew up in an office district of Colombia's capital on Thursday, shattering windows and injuring at least nine people, police said. No deaths were reported. The blast occurred at 5:30 a.m. (1030 GMT) outside a 12-story building housing Caracol Radio, the Spanish news agency EFE and the Ecuadorean consulate, as well as the offices of several politicians and banks. Gen. Cesar Pinzon, the city's police chief, suggested leftist...

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...

: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 airport...

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...

Colombian vice-president elect Angelino Garzón said in an interview with an Ecuadorian radio station that he "highly" appreciated the call made by Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez to the Colombian guerrillas to "reconsider" their armed strategy. "I highly value the recent statements made by President Hugo Chávez when he told the Colombian guerrilla that they have no reason to exist," Garzón told Radio Quito. He recalled that Cuban...

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...

A Colombian newspaper disclosed a report issued by the Colombian intelligence agency according to which training camps are based in the states of Apure, Monagas, and Aragua. They allegedly accommodate members of Basque terrorist group ETA, some Iranian groups, and members of FARC’s Front 59. Members of Basque terrorist group ETA and "some Iranian groups" are allegedly trained by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in camps located in Venezuela,...

Amnesty International has called on the Colombian authorities to investigate the killing of a human rights defender who was campaigning against abuses committed by paramilitaries and the security forces in the north-western region of Sucre. Rogelio Martínez, who represented displaced rural communities in the area of San Onofre, was shot dead by a group of hooded men dressed in black as he travelled home by motorbike taxi on Tuesday. “Rogelio Martínez campaigned long...