Chavez Calls Colombian
Defense Minister
"Obstacle" To Bilateral
Ties
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez on Sunday
described Colombia's
defense minister as an
"obstacle" to bilateral
relations, asking the
military chief to be put
"in his place."
Colombian Defense
Minister Juan Manuel
Santos said earlier that
Chavez "is more
dangerous" for Colombia
than the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), the largest
rebel group in the
country.
Chavez reacted sharply
to Santos' remarks,
saying: "If he were my
minister, he would be
dismissed by now."
"I ask my friend Alvaro
Uribe to put his defense
minister in his place,"
Chavez said during the
5th PetroCaribe summit
held in Maracaibo,
about500 km west of the
capital city.
In response, Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe
said Sunday that
Colombian officials
should be prudent in
their remarks on
Venezuela as the two
countries were starting
"a new era of
relations."
Chavez met with Uribe on
Friday to revive ties,
which have become
increasingly tense since
November 2007.
Chavez called on the
international community
to remove the label of
terrorists for the FARC.
He also urged the rebels
to put down their
weapons and release all
the hostages they hold.
Colombian officials have
long accused Venezuela
of harboring several
rebel leaders.
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