Colombian-Venezuelan border closed

By Andrea

On Monday, November 2, two soldiers in Venezuela's National Guard have been shot to death near the border with Colombia. The killings of the soldiers were the latest in a string of incidents on the border, including arrests on both sides. Furthermore, this incident has worsened already dire relations between Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez and U.S. ally President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. The situation escalated in the closure of borders between the countries.

Relations between Colombia and Venezuela have sharpened this summer, when Colombia accused Venezuela of supplying guerrillas with weapons. Last month Venezuelan authorities allegly caught two Colombian spies. Also, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was strongly against the military agreement signed between the United States and Colombia last month, threatening to block trade because of it. Most recently, Venezuelan authorities found eight murdered bodies of men that Colombia described as an amateur soccer team that had been kidnapped near the border. Venezuela; nonetheless, claimed that those murdered were paramilitaries.

Venezuelan authorities closed the border Monday evening and on Wednesday President Chavez has even threatened to close the border permanently.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/03/venezuela.colombia/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6721-colombians-unable-to-cross-venezuelan-border.html