Bolsonaro asks Venezuela not to "shelter" ELN after the attack in Bogota



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The president of Brazil asked Venezuela on Friday not to "give a hole" in their territory to "those terrorists" of the ELN guerrilla, which the Colombian government blames for the car bomb attack of the day previous in a police academy in Bogotá.

"We would like Venezuela not to give those terrorists of ELN a den, protection," the president said in a short video message.

Colombian prosecutors have reported that ELN leaders are taking refuge in Venezuela, but President Ivan Duque's government has said it has no evidence of Venezuelan officials.

Bolsonaro, who claims to exert regional pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, also said that he called Duque to "show solidarity" after "the terrorist attack" of the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last guerrilla active in that country.

"We would like that group to lay down their arms and free the countless hostages they have in their power," the president said.

The attack is a fatal blow to the peace dialogues that the government and the guerrillas have held since 2017 and have remained neutral since August.

According to the Colombian Defense Minister Guillermo Botero, the terrorist act against the cadet school, which killed 20 students between 17 and 22 years, was committed by an explosives expert at ELN, identified as José Aldemar Rojas Rodríguez, 56 years old. and that he died in the attack.

Among the deceased there is an Ecuadorian cadet. There were also 68 wounded, including three minors, according to police. Nine people remain hospitalized.

For the time being, ELN has not commented on the allegations. The influential Chavista leader Diosdado Cabello denied the involvement of Caracas and condemned the attack.

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