| Seven Venezuelans were killed near the Colombian border by, as yet, unidentified gunmen, El Nacional newspaper reported Saturday. The six Venezuelan soldiers and an engineer from the nation's state oil company were slain while inspecting a western oil field, according to military officials who speculate the attackers were either Colombia's left-wing rebels or right-wing paramilitaries. Both groups have been known to cross the nations' shared border and attack Venezuelan soldiers and civilians, sometimes taking them hostage for ransom. Relations between Colombian and Venezuela have been tense during recent years. Colombia's government has accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of supporting leftist rebels, while Chavez in turn alleges paramilitaries have participated in plots to overthrow his government. |