Venezuela, Colombia patch up differences
CARACAS, Venezuela – The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia said Tuesday they had resolved a diplomatic dispute caused by the capture of a prominent Colombian rebel in Venezuela and would work together to improve border security by sharing intelligence.
After emerging from a meeting that lasted over four hours, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country would do everything possible to prevent Colombian rebels from seeking refuge in Venezuelan territory.
“We decided to turn the page, to clear things up,” Chavez said.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said he and Chavez “have a commitment” to increasing security along their common border. “This implies cooperating so sovereignty is not affected,” Uribe said.
Chavez said commercial agreements – including the construction of a gas pipeline connecting the two nations – that had been frozen for weeks would be “reactivated.”
Chavez, a fervent nationalist, had claimed that the capture of Colombian rebel Rodrigo Granda for a bounty off the streets of Caracas in mid-December violated Venezuela’s sovereignty. Uribe had expressed concerns about Colombian guerrillas seeking refuge in Venezuelan territory and said both nations should cooperate in denying them safe haven.
“We are dedicated to fighting terrorism, in any form,” Chavez said after the meeting.
Both leaders have expressed concern about the relative ease with which rebels can come across their 1,400-mile border, which runs through mountains and thick jungle.
Chavez and Uribe acknowledged that Cuban President Fidel Castro played a role in lowering tension and they thanked the leaders of Peru and Brazil.
Chavez has accused the United States of having a hand in Granda’s capture to provoke Venezuela, an accusation the U.S. State Department has denied. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have said Venezuela should investigate whether other Colombian rebels are hiding within its borders.
Sitting next to Uribe at a news conference following their talks, Chavez rejected concerns raised by officials in Washington that 100,000 assault rifles that Venezuela plans to purchase from Russia could fall into the hands of Colombian rebel groups.
“We want to replace arms. Nobody should be worried about that,” said Chavez, an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy.
The State Department said Thursday it is “extremely troubled” by Russian arms deliveries to Venezuela, signaling concern that some of the weapons might be turned over to leftist rebels in neighboring Colombia.
“If we were buying from them, they wouldn’t be so worried because they love to sell arms,” Chavez said of the Americans.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, Chavez accused the United States of provoking the crisis between Caracas and Bogota in an effort to isolate his “revolutionary” government from its Latin American neighbors.