Venezuela rebel negotiations above board

All contacts were solicited and authorized by Andres Pastrana, who led Colombia from 1998 to 2002, or Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia since 2002, Maduro told the El Pais newspaper in the Colombian city of Cali. Maduro said this year's release of six captives who had been held by Colombia's largest rebel group -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- was thanks to Chavez's mediation.