EL NULA, Venezuela -- This remote town in southwestern Venezuela, just 19 miles from the Colombian border, enjoys a relative security no thanks to Venezuelan security forces.

Residents say that's because the 10,000 or so people here are in fact ruled by leftist Colombian guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN).

Infiltrated into practically every aspect of the town's daily life, guerrilla commanders and fighters not only live openly in residential areas and neighboring communities, they also administer justice, supervise public works and serve as advisors for the communal councils created by the government of President Hugo Chávez, the residents say.

Despite a strong presence by the Venezuelan army that controls access roads through several checkpoints and bases, the rebels operate openly, extorting ''contributions'' from leading farmers and ranchers as well as others less well-off, while punishing and even killing those who resist or are considered enemies.

GROWING POWER

Although the guerrilla presence in this region is nothing new -- it was first detected in early 2000 -- the growing power exerted by the rebels in areas such as in El Nula has no precedent and shows little sign of diminishing in the near future, according to analysts and residents of the surrounding border state of Apure.

''The presence of guerrilla groups in El Nula is an active presence, threatening, interventionist, a violation of national sovereignty, both by the FARC and the ELN,'' said Rev. Acacio Belandria, a Jesuit priest who has led the parish in El Nula for eight years and has often denounced the guerrilla activity in the town.

According to residents, the rebels operate an effective judicial system that resolves family disputes, presides over divorce hearings and gives the final ruling on other matters, such as the theft of cattle or property-line disputes between farmers.

Venezuelan judges ''take months to reach a decision. Instead, with the guerrillas we resolve the problem in 24 hours,'' said a resident of El Nula who acknowledged having asked ELN rebels to resolve her dispute over property during a divorce.

''The guerrillas offer Salomonic solutions that people end up accepting, because there is no effective presence from the Venezuelan state,'' said Belandria.

The rebels also sometimes intervene in local public schools and force local contractors engaged in public projects to pay commissions that run between 15 and 30 per cent of the project's total value -- and hire guerrilla fighters as employees.

`KNOW EVERYTHING'

''They have intelligence within the government. They have people infiltrated. They know everything. They know who gets the contracts, the amounts of money and the progress of the projects,'' Belandria said.

On a recent $9 million contract for a community building, the guerrillas required a 15 percent payment -- nearly $1.35 million. The project could not begin until guarantees of payment were made to the rebels, said one resident familiar with the contract.

The Venezuelan government has long and strongly denied the presence of Colombian guerrillas inside Venezuela. It also has denied that its army is not effectively combating the rebels.

Earlier this year, Chávez publicly warned the Colombian guerrillas ``to not carry out another operative in our territory, and much less armed actions, because we will be obliged to respond. . . . It is an obligation of the Venezuelan military.''

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