Venezuela calls for greater cooperation

The Venezuelan defence minister, Ismael Eliecer Hurtado, has called on South American countries to co-operate more in the fight against drugs.

General Hurtado told the BBC that regional co-operation was essential to stop the trafficking and violence associated with the trade.

Colombia's neighbours are worried that US military backing for a new Colombian anti-narcotics offensive Plan Colombia will spread violence and insurgency over their own borders. At a meeting last month in Brazil of American defence ministers, US officials criticised the lack of solidarity from South American countries on this issue, but stressed that the anti-drugs plan would go ahead with or without their support.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service