Venezuela, Colombia to collaborate on border security following kidnappings

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)