Tensions rise in Colombia-Ecuador-Venezuela dispute
05/03/2008| IslamWeb
The crisis gripping South America took a step closer to open conflict Wednesday, with Venezuela saying 10 battalions were now on the Colombian border, and Ecuador warning "ultimate consequences" could ensue.
The developments increased pressure on frantic diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute, which has raised the specter of OPEC members Venezuela and Ecuador, led by leftists, going to war against conservative US ally Colombia.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, in Brazil to drum up regional support for his country, warned that Colombia must be condemned internationally for its cross-border strike inside Ecuador on the weekend.
"Otherwise we will have to defend ourselves by our own means. I insist on this: Ecuador is ready to go to the ultimate consequences," he told reporters
Venezuela, which has given full backing to Ecuador, confirmed that 10 of its army battalions -- around 6,000 men -- had been sent to the frontier and were 90 percent in place.
The mobilization was "not against the people of Colombia, but rather against the expansionist designs of the Empire," Venezuelan Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel said, referring to the United States, which has thrown its weight behind its ally Colombia.
The trigger of the crisis was an air and land raid by Colombia inside Ecuador on Saturday to kill a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Marxist guerrilla group it has been fighting for four decades.
Ecuador and Venezuela responded by ordering troops to their borders with Colombia and cutting off diplomatic ties.
US President George W. Bush hailed Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for going after the FARC and blamed the heightened tensions on "provocative maneuvers" by longtime foe, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Correa, who was to talk with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, said the US backing of Colombia was unsurprising, and described Uribe as Washington's "unconditional puppet."
He said: "There has been an aggression. The aggressor has to apologize and the international community has to condemn it."
Correa said his country saw no negotiated solution because "there is nothing to negotiate."
"Nobody wants war," he said. "But we won't fool ourselves. The war was started by Colombia. We were bombed."
Brazil, along with Chile and Argentina, have already expressed indignation over Colombia's extraterritorial attack.
Lula on Tuesday stated that Colombia had violated Ecuador's territorial sovereignty, and noted that "when such things happen it is always difficult to find a solution because ... nobody wants to go back on what they have done."
The situation has gone from bad to worse since Colombia sent its forces into Ecuador to kill Raul Reyes, the number two in the FARC.
Although Colombia apologized to Ecuador for the raid, it said it was justified, and claimed it had recovered information from Reyes's laptop showing Ecuador and Venezuela were abetting the rebels.
Chavez gave 300 million dollars to the FARC, Colombian officials said, adding that the guerrillas also made efforts to obtain 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of uranium in an apparent "dirty bomb" plot.
Quito and Caracas denied the allegations against them, and expelled Colombia's ambassadors while giving orders to their troops to move to the borders.
Late Tuesday, the Organization of American States held an emergency session on the crisis.
During the meeting, Venezuela's representative branded Bogota's strike "genocidal," while Ecuador accused Colombia of a "planned and premeditated violation" of its sovereignty and called for an OAS commission to investigate.
Both Ecuador and Colombia also called for an urgent meeting of foreign ministers from the 34-nation body by March 11 to examine the row.
PHOTO CAPTION
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa addresses a press conference in Brasilia.
AFP
