Venezuela, Colombia to increase military presence along shared border

FILE PHOTO: People cross the Simon Bolivar International Bridge from Venezuela to Colombia, as Colombia's President-elect Gustavo Petro aims to normalize relations and encourage trade with Venezuela, in Villa del Rosario, Colombia June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez

CARACAS/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Venezuela and Colombia will boost the number of troops stationed along its shared border at informal crossings where armed criminal groups linked to drug trafficking often operate, the defense ministers of the two countries said on Thursday.

The ministers met in Caracas to discuss the security threat from the groups "who cross the border and carry out criminal activity in both Venezuelan and Colombian territory," Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said on a Venezuelan state television broadcast.