BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Leftist Colombian rebels still have a presence in neighbouring Venezuela, the head of Colombia’s armed forces said yesterday in a statement that could cause renewed friction with the OPEC nation.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez briefly broke off diplomatic ties last year with Colombia, then led by President Alvaro Uribe, over accusations Chavez’s socialist government was sheltering Marxist Colombian fighters.
Relations between the two Andean countries have warmed significantly since the current Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, took office last August, although once-flourishing bilateral trade is still in the doldrums.
