Venezuela Rebel
Negotiations Above Board
Venezuelan Foreign
Minister Nicolas Maduro
has said that all of the
negotiations between
Venezuela's President
Hugo Chavez and
Colombia's two largest
rebe lgroups had the
Colombian government's
authorization, a
newspaper reported
Sunday.
All contacts were
solicited and authorized
by Andres Pastrana, who
led Colombia from 1998
to 2002, or Alvaro Uribe,
president of Colombia
since 2002, Maduro told
the El Pais newspaper in
the Colombian city of
Cali.
Maduro said this year's
release of six captives
who had been held by
Colombia's largest rebel
group -- the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)
-- was thanks to
Chavez's mediation.
Allegations that FARC
was financially
supported by the
Venezuelan government
were baseless, he said,
adding that Colombia's
media campaign against
Chavez and his
Ecuadorian counterpart,
Rafael Correa, must end
as soon as possible.
Venezuela, by contrast,
has turned the page on
confrontation with
Colombia, he said.
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