Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel expressed disappointment with the report forwarded by the Colombian Foreign Ministry containing the names of 10 guerrilla members of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) in Venezuela.

In his view, the list fell far short of his expectations. "We expected a lot from this information. Perhaps (Colombian) President (Alvaro) Uribe bought a pig in a poke, because the document is totally irrelevant."

"This list adds absolutely nothing. The Colombian Defense Minister told us -the Venezuelan Defense Minister and myself- that the military officers detained in (the Venezuelan central city of) Maracay were searching a drug-traffic ringleader known as 'Jabón' (soap). Therefore, the Defense Minister should have any information available. Otherwise, he is lying," Rangel added.

The Vice-President ruled out an information published last Friday 21st in the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paolo, stating that the US State Department had requested Latin American nations to "exert pressure" on Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to clarify his links with the guerrilla.

"This is not an official paper, but a working paper. In any case, pressure should be exerted on the United States to stop meddling in Venezuela. They will not get any support in Latin America because our government is fully backed."

According to the Vice-President, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was the source of the information published in Brazil.

"This not their business. They are fanning the flames to create differences between the Colombian and the Venezuelan peoples. Therefore, I regret that the Colombian government has not clarified its position," Rangel said.

As a common denominator, during the march "For Dignity," top government officials rejected the concept of "light or relative sovereignty" advanced by Colombian and US diplomatic representatives with regard to the impasse with Venezuela.

Miranda governor Diosdado Cabello, Defense Secretary Melvin López Hidalgo, and anchorpeople of the government T.V. channel (VTV) Vladimir Villegas and Francisco Pérez unanimously rejected unclear stances on "states sovereignty."