Colombia and Brazil tighten border defense

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BOGOTA, June 24 (UPI) -- The Colombian and Brazilian governments are working together to beef up security along the Amazon border to prevent drug trafficking, officials said.

The defense ministers of Brazil and Colombia announced plans to prevent criminals from operating in the jungle border area, El Espectador reported Friday.

Brazilian Defense Minister Barsil Nelson Jobim said Brazil will increase the number of soldiers stationed on the border in the coming years.

"We have a very important natural asset on the border and we must develop a strategy for cooperation among all countries in the subcontinent," said Jobim.

Both defense ministers discussed joint strategies to eliminate drug laboratories and cocaine refineries by developing a satellite surveillance system for the border.

Jobim said he is hoping for a cooperative policy with other cocaine-producing countries such as Bolivia and Peru.