Colombia: Drug gangs dominate where guerrillas once reigned

IN THE last days of Álvaro Uribe’s presidency in 2010, Colombia accused neighbouring Venezuela of letting the FARC and ELN, the two main leftist guerrilla groups, maintain camps along its border. In response Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, recalled his ambassador and skipped the inauguration of Mr Uribe’s successor, Juan Manuel Santos. Once Mr Santos took over, however, Colombian officials stopped discussing the camps in public. Most observers concluded that Mr Santos thought Venezuela would respond better to private pleading than to public scolding. Read Article