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VENEZUELA - Arrested for Making Statements at the Border

* VENEZUELA

Arrested for Making Statements at the Border
Colombian presidential candidate Rafael Pardo was briefly arrested by the Venezuelan National Guard

Colombian Liberal Party presidential candidate Rafael Pardo was arrested by the Venezuelan National Guard on the Simon Bolivar International Bridge which connects Colombia and Venezuela, as he spoke to journalists. According to witnesses, a National Guard member approached the politician and after requesting his documents asked him to accompany him to the San Antonio del Tachira headquarters where he had to explain what he was doing in the area. After being freed, Pardo returned to Cucuta by motorcycle. The incident occurred just one day after the National Guard destroyed two foot bridges in the town of Ragonvalia, an act which Vice President Ramon Carrizalez called normal since these were "improvised avenues serving narco-traffickers." The Colombian government called it a violation of international law involving risks to civilians and filed complaints with the UN and the OAS.
20-Nov-2009 05:11pm