The broader question, besides the case of Dr. Cossio.... Dr. Cossio and seven members of his family were arrested by the Venezuelan police on April 1. Foreign Affairs Minister Bermúdez in Colombia has spoken out on this, and is loudly protesting this before the UN, the OAS, and other international fora. That's one specific human rights issue that we're concerned about with Venezuela.
But in terms of the broader risk that the Chavez regime represents in the Andean region, given the threats of Chavez to close the border to Colombian goods--I believe the Venezuelan market represents about 40% of Colombian exports now--and given the fact that FARC is increasingly basing itself in Venezuela and is being harboured by Chavez, in terms of the geopolitical aspects and the geopolitical stability of the Andean region, how important is this agreement to fortifying Colombia in the face of the threat that Chavez represents?
Could you speak to the human rights situation in Venezuela and compare the trend line with Colombia's in recent years? We know that civil society, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech don't exist in Venezuela, as an example, but I'd be interested in your thoughts and observations based on your analysis on the ground.