Colombia Seeks Answers on NSA Spying

Claimed to be a target of surveillance program

Colombia has expressed concern and called for an explanation after revelations the US spied on the Andean nation, its closest military ally in Latin America.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Colombia's foreign ministry said it "registered its concern" that there had been an "unauthorised data collection programme" and asked the US government to give an account of its actions through its embassy in Bogota.

The Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported on Tuesday that the US National Security Agency targeted most Latin American countries with spying programmes that monitored internet traffic, especially in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.