Nov 12 (Reuters) – The governments of Colombia and Venezuela said on Thursday they are willing to coordinate security efforts to combat transnational crime following two recent high-profile kidnappings along their 2,219-kilometer shared border.
Colombia is seeking Venezuelan help locating the wife of a Colombian mayor and an army officer.
• Colombia’s foreign ministry spoke with Venezuela’s government “to coordinate efforts to rescue” Nancy Gomez, the wife of the mayor of the city of Uribia, in the northern-most department of La Guajira, some 30 km (19 miles) from the Venezuelan border
• Colombian authorities believe she was kidnapped on November 11 and taken into Venezuela in an attempt to evade Colombian law enforcement
• Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella deployed military troops to the area to aid with the search for Gomez, and said the ELN armed group was believed to be behind her kidnapping
• On November 4, a Colombian army officer was kidnapped by the ELN armed group in the town of Saravena, in the border state of Arauca, Colombian authorities said
• Venezuela’s government said it is “fully willing to carry out all necessary coordination” with Colombian authorities on security matters, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in an earlier statement
• Armed groups, including leftist guerrillas, have historically operated along the border, where drug trafficking and smuggling are common
• Colombia previously accused Venezuela of harboring FARC and ELN rebels in its territory, charges Caracas has repeatedly denied
• Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora on Wednesday said Colombia had asked the US to work with Venezuela to help find the kidnapped officer
• “We are hoping that with this transition happening in Venezuela, there will be cooperation,” Mora said
• Earlier this year, Delcy Rodriguez became Venezuela’s interim president and began governing the country under US oversight after a US military raid captured then-leader Nicolas Maduro and took him to New York to face trial
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Daina Beth Solomon)
