Venezuela to strengthen border security with Colombia
Venezuela's Interior Minister Jesse Chacon said on Wednesday that Venezuela and Colombia were working together to strengthen border security, including fighting cross-border kidnapping and violence.

Officials from his office had already held three meetings with their counterparts from Colombia's Administrative Security Department and National Police to discuss relevant issues since the two heads of state last met, when the leaders discussed a reported assassination plan targeting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Chacon said in a statement.

Other issues had also been discussed between the two delegations, including kidnapping, violence and other crimes occurring along the border area, he mentioned.

Relations between Venezuela and Colombia are often tested by the unstable situation along their rugged, 2,200-km border, where kidnapping, murder and other violent spillovers from Colombia's four-decade-old insurgency are common.