The local El Universal quoted Nelson Ramiz on Friday as saying the visas for pilots subcontracted by the airline were suspended last week without any explanation from the U.S. government.
Ramiz said the airline has requested an explanation from the U.S. consul in Venezuela, but has yet to receive an answer.***
The four soldiers were shot at 6 a.m. local time while patrolling the frontier in Zulia state, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) west of Caracas, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
There were no immediate suspects. A brigade with more than 300 troops was combing the area for evidence, the officer said.
He said the killings could be related to the shooting deaths on Thursday of three guardsmen in western Tachira state, which were blamed on common criminals.
In both cases, the soldiers were robbed of their weapons, the officer said.
The officer said a civilian found the soldiers lying dead on a river bank and rushed to the nearest national guard post to report the incident. He said there were no witnesses to the shooting, however.
The two shooting incidents mark the first time in six years that national guard soldiers have been killed in the border region with Colombia, the officer said.
The 2,200-kilometer (1,400-mile) border is often plagued with violence stemming from Colombia's four-decade civil war between leftist rebels, government troops and outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups. Both countries have accused each other of not doing enough to guard the border, which runs through steep mountains and thick, tropical jungle. [End]