Colombian platform for 'Venezuelan rebels'

A video has been broadcast on Colombian television showing a group of armed men in combat fatigues who claim to belong to a newly formed right-wing paramilitary group in Venezuela.

One of the men, calling himself Comandante Antonio, said the group was formed to fight Colombia's left-wing rebels who, he says, operate on Venezuelan territory.

He says the group, which calls itself United Self-defense of Venezuela or AUV, has more than 2,000 members.

One of the AUV's aims, according to the broadcast, is the removal from power of President Hugo Chavez who, the group says, supports Colombian rebels and drug-traffickers.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service