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Colombia rejects Venezuela peace plan

Colombia has rejected Venezuela’s peace plan to end the dispute over allegations that Venezuela is sheltering leftist guerrillas.

“A true peace plan begins with not interfering in the internal affairs of any country,” Colombia’s Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said on Wednesday, the VHeadline website reported on Wednesday.

“But, moreover, a true peace plan begins with not allowing criminals to exist in any place in the world, that they do not have any space, neither physical nor political,” he added.

Bermudez’s comments came after Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Madura announced that he will be presenting “a methodology for a peace plan” at the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) summit in Quito on Thursday.

Madura has said that Venezuela would like to prevent “the outgoing [Colombian] government from undertaking desperate actions that may result in some type of military action,” Colombia Reports stated.

On July 22, Colombia presented evidence allegedly showing Venezuela is hosting 87 leftist guerrilla camps.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said that his government will offer its own peace plan to address the presence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Venezuelan soil.

According to Uribe, the plan will involve the demobilization and surrender of FARC members in Venezuela.

Uribe says that the guerrillas who surrender will be given the same rights accorded to demobilized paramilitaries under the Justice and Peace process.

“Peace is born of maintaining a firm authority that relies on democratic values,” Uribe said.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced plans Wednesday to embark on a diplomatic mission to resolve the crisis between Venezuela and Colombia ahead of the regional meeting.

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