Venezuela&nbsp;on Saturday condemned what it said was the "kidnapping" of&nbsp;eight&nbsp;soldiers&nbsp;by&nbsp;armed&nbsp;groups&nbsp;operating on the&nbsp;Colombian&nbsp;border, where clashes have been ongoing for nearly two months.

'During the fighting,&nbsp;eight&nbsp;professional&nbsp;soldiers&nbsp;were captured and on May 9 we received proof of life,'&nbsp;Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a televised statement.

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'We denounce before the international community... the appalling&nbsp;kidnapping&nbsp;of these&nbsp;soldiers,'&nbsp;he said.

Venezuela's&nbsp;armed&nbsp;forces have engaged in clashes with&nbsp;Colombian&nbsp;armed&nbsp;groups&nbsp;along the border since March 21, displacing thousands of civilians who fled to Colombia.

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Venezuela&nbsp;does not name the&nbsp;armed&nbsp;groups&nbsp;it blames for the unrest, apart from calling them 'terrorists'&nbsp;or linking them to drug trafficking or to&nbsp;Colombian&nbsp;President Ivan Duque.

However, security sources in Colombia say they are likely dissidents of the now-disbanded Revolutionary&nbsp;Armed&nbsp;Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group, an analysis Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has conceded was possible.

'We will spare no effort and we will exhaust all possible ways to recover them safe and sound,'&nbsp;Padrino said of the&nbsp;soldiers, surrounded by members of the country's military brass.

Last Monday, Fundaredes, an NGO that is critical of Maduro, published documents from alleged FARC dissidents detailing how the&nbsp;eight&nbsp;soldiers&nbsp;were 'captured as prisoners of war,'&nbsp;in clashes with&nbsp;Venezuela.

In the documents, the dissidents appealed to the Red Cross to act as an intermediary for handing over the captives.

The Red Cross told AFP it was aware of the text, but would not comment on it at present.

According to Padrino,&nbsp;Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with the Red Cross to 'serve as a link in the delivery'&nbsp;of the&nbsp;soldiers.

'We have established the necessary contacts for an early release,'&nbsp;he said.

A total of 16 members of the Venezuelan&nbsp;armed&nbsp;forces have died since the clashes began, according to an official report by the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense.

Venezuela&nbsp;and Colombia, which share a 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border, severed ties in January 2019, after Duque's government recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the leader of&nbsp;Venezuela&nbsp;over Maduro.

Venezuela on Saturday condemned what it said was the "kidnapping" of eight soldiers by armed groups operating on the Colombian border, where clashes have been ongoing for nearly two months.

Venezuela on Saturday condemned what it said was the "kidnapping" of eight soldiers by armed groups operating on the Colombian border, where clashes have been ongoing for nearly two months. 'During the fighting, eight professional soldiers were captured and on May 9 we received proof of life,' Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a televised statement. Also read: Colombians in Madrid march to support protests in home country 'We denounce before the international community... the appalling kidnapping of these soldiers,' he said. Venezuela's armed forces have engaged in clashes with Colombian armed groups along the border since March 21, displacing thousands of civilians who fled to Colombia. Also read: Venezuela government wants to use funds frozen in US to pay for vaccines Venezuela does not name the armed groups it blames for the unrest, apart from calling them 'terrorists' or linking them to drug trafficking or to Colombian President Ivan Duque. However, security sources in Colombia say they are likely dissidents of the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group, an analysis Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has conceded was possible. 'We will spare no effort and we will exhaust all possible ways to recover them safe and sound,' Padrino said of the soldiers, surrounded by members of the country's military brass. Last Monday, Fundaredes, an NGO that is critical of Maduro, published documents from alleged FARC dissidents detailing how the eight soldiers were 'captured as prisoners of war,' in clashes with Venezuela. In the documents, the dissidents appealed to the Red Cross to act as an intermediary for handing over the captives. The Red Cross told AFP it was aware of the text, but would not comment on it at present. According to Padrino, Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with the Red Cross to 'serve as a link in the delivery' of the soldiers. 'We have established the necessary contacts for an early release,' he said. A total of 16 members of the Venezuelan armed forces have died since the clashes began, according to an official report by the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense. Venezuela and Colombia, which share a 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border, severed ties in January 2019, after Duque's government recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the leader of Venezuela over Maduro.

Venezuela denounces 'kidnapping' of eight soldiers by Colombian armed groups

Seventeen Colombian soldiers died when their Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in a central mountainous area of the Andean country, the army announced on Monday. 
 
According to officials, the accident in the Caldas province, some 180 km from the Bogota capital, occurred on June 26 when the helicopter was travelling from the jungle province of Choco to the Tolemaida military base. 
 
Search and rescue teams were deployed on foot in lush jungle to find the site of the crash but no survivors were found. 
 
&quot;I pass on the sad news that our men have been found dead in the site of the accident. Firstly, I want to heartfully express my condolences, to embrace the families of those four officials, seven deputy officials and seven soldiers who were lost in this tragedy,&quot; said Colombian army commander, General Alberto Jose Meja. 
 
Officials have blamed bad weather rather than foul play for the tragedy but a full investigation is underway for answers into the crash. 
 
President Juan Manuel Santos passed on his condolences to family members of the fallen soldiers. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re waiting for the result of the investigation to see what really happened. It&#39;s a sad event, a sad episode and our hearts are with the families of these fallen heroes who died doing their job,&quot; he said at military barracks. 
 
Military fatalities are not uncommon in Colombia with many soldiers operating in dense jungle regions against strong drug cartels. 
 
German Martinez lost a member of his family in the helicopter crash. He told media that Colombian soldiers put the lives of citizens before their own in the line of duty. 
 
&quot;When they (soldiers) take on this role one does not always thinking about receiving news like this. They look after the lives of all citizens, attentive to what they must do and they put their lives at risk for us,&quot; said Martinez. 
 
The last major helicopter crash happened in Colombia took place in August, when 16 police officers died after a mechanical failure caused their US-made UH-60 Black Hawk to crash during an anti-drug operation in Colombia&#39;s northeast. 
 
(Reuters)

Search and rescue teams found no survivors in the jungle province of Choco where the chopper went down

Seventeen Colombian soldiers died when their Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in a central mountainous area of the Andean country, the army announced on Monday. According to officials, the accident in the Caldas province, some 180 km from the Bogota capital, occurred on June 26 when the helicopter was travelling from the jungle province of Choco to the Tolemaida military base. Search and rescue teams were deployed on foot in lush jungle to find the site of the crash but no survivors were found. "I pass on the sad news that our men have been found dead in the site of the accident. Firstly, I want to heartfully express my condolences, to embrace the families of those four officials, seven deputy officials and seven soldiers who were lost in this tragedy," said Colombian army commander, General Alberto Jose Meja. Officials have blamed bad weather rather than foul play for the tragedy but a full investigation is underway for answers into the crash. President Juan Manuel Santos passed on his condolences to family members of the fallen soldiers. "We're waiting for the result of the investigation to see what really happened. It's a sad event, a sad episode and our hearts are with the families of these fallen heroes who died doing their job," he said at military barracks. Military fatalities are not uncommon in Colombia with many soldiers operating in dense jungle regions against strong drug cartels. German Martinez lost a member of his family in the helicopter crash. He told media that Colombian soldiers put the lives of citizens before their own in the line of duty. "When they (soldiers) take on this role one does not always thinking about receiving news like this. They look after the lives of all citizens, attentive to what they must do and they put their lives at risk for us," said Martinez. The last major helicopter crash happened in Colombia took place in August, when 16 police officers died after a mechanical failure caused their US-made UH-60 Black Hawk to crash during an anti-drug operation in Colombia's northeast. (Reuters)

Helicopter crash kills 17 Colombian soldiers

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Venezuela denounces 'kidnapping' of eight soldiers by Colombian armed groups

Helicopter crash kills 17 Colombian soldiers