In a historic move, Colombia's gaming regulator, Coljuegos, has launched its most extensive crackdown on illegal betting operations, blocking 10,000 websites and social media profiles that were off

Latin America is emerging as a prime destination for global sports betting operators.

Bogota - Eight Colombian soldiers were killed Wednesday in a clash with leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the northeastern Perija mountains on the Venezuelan border.

"Unfortunately eight military officers died today in ... the province of La Guajira. The events took place in the early hours as the soldiers were ambushed by FARC," said La Guajira Interior Minister Jose Ballesteros.

Army reinforcements were sent to the site of the clash in the town of Villanueva, Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

Colombian media reports said the rebels escaped to Venezuelan territory following the encounter with the military.

Bogota  - Seven Colombian soldiers were killed Wednesday in a clash with leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the northeastern Perija mountains, on the Venezuelan border.

"Unfortunately seven military officers were murdered. We deeply regret it and we are investigating exactly what happened to these military officers," said Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

Army reinforcements were sent to the site of the clash, in the town of Villanueva, Santos said.

Madrid - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday defended Cuba's reintegration into the Inter-American Community from which the island was excluded in 1962 because of its communist regime. "The process of Cuba's integration into the entire Inter-American Community must begin," Uribe said at an economic forum in Madrid.

The Colombian president arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a two-day working visit, during which he was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, King Juan Carlos and entrepreneurs.

Bogota - At least eight miners died and four others were injured in the collapse of a gold mine in northwest Colombia, officials said Tuesday.

Victor Tamayo, governor of Choco province, said the mine was located in a remote, jungle region about four hours from the nearest city.

In a separate incident in the same province, the Attorney General's office confiscated 24 dredges used in illegal gold-mining operations without permits that caused environmental degradation.