The most recent Farc attack, which left 12 soldiers dead in La Guajira, shows that the border between Colombia and Venezuela is a hazy area with little control from either country, something all too clear for guerrillas who often use it to escape authorities by crossing the border.

According to NGONuevo Arcoiris, which specializes in the analysis of the armed conflict, Farc has carried out 612 attacks this year alone. 138 of them occurred on the border with Venezuela, 88 in northern Santander, 24 in Arauca, 12 in La Guajira and 14 in Cesar.

For conflict analysts, the most serious problem is the fact that authorities have no control over the area, on either side of the border. “It’s a gigantic area and Colombia has not established control over the land while Venezuela has been incapable of driving the illegal groups away. Farc and Eln have been in these areas for 30 years and have enlisted the help of local authorities from both countries and secured ties with residents, which allows them to move freely. These attacks are not new (…),” said Luis Eduardo Celis of the Nuevo Arco Iris Corporation.

Violence has increased in the departments of Northern Santander, Arauca, Caquetá and now La Guajira.

Procter & Gamble is celebrating 25 years of operation in Colombia and wants to make sure consumers are familiar with the company behind the products that make it into 98 percent of Colombian homes in the form of soaps, detergents or deodorants, to name just a few.

With the official launch of the P&G brand, “we want to show people our company, our values, what we represent, how we innovate and develop products to improve customers’ quality of life,” says marketing VP for Latin America, Juan Fernando Posada.

According to Buenos Aires federal judge, Norberto Oyarbide, if the bomb meant as an attempt on the life of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez had detonated, the loss of life would have been significant and “it would have been greatly damaging to the republic of Argentina.”

Authorities believe the explosion was set to go off at 4:30 p.m. today when Uribe would have been in the middle of his conference at a seminar aimed at business executives. At that time in the event there would have been a significant number of people gathered, including other well-respected guest speakers.

In Colombia, President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, left the investigation was left in the hands of General Oscar Naranjo.