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Panama: Colombian
Drug-Trafficking Route
to US
Nicaragua Will
Boost Milk, Basic Food Production,
Ortega Says
Nicaragua Says
Colombia Is A Threat To Region
Ecuador Steps up Border,
Security
Brazil Seeks To Ease
Ecuador-Colombia-Venezuela
Tension |
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Brazil Seeks To Ease
Ecuador-Colombia-Venezuela
Tension
The Brazilian government
said on Monday it will
make diplomatic efforts
to ease tensions among
Ecuador, Colombia and
Venezuela triggered by a
Colombian trespass on
Ecuadorian soil to
attack rebels.
Colombian forces on
Saturday killed 21
rebels, including the
No. 2 figure of the
guerilla group the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC),
in a camp inside Ecuador
3 km from the border.
The incident has
seriously strained the
diplomatic relations
between Colombia and its
neighbors, Ecuador and
Venezuela.
Brazilian Presidency's
Foreign Affairs
Assistant Marco Aurelio
Garcia said that he
expects to mobilize "all
the forces of the
Brazilian diplomacy and
of other South American
capital cities to reduce
the tension" and "find a
long-lasting solution to
the problem."
According to Garcia,
Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva
will talk to Argentine
President Cristina
Kirchner about
cooperation in the
diplomatic effort, in
which the Chilean
government has also
stated its wish to
participate.
Brazil's Minister of
Foreign Relations Celso
Amorim has made
telephone calls to
Colombian and Ecuadorian
officials in an attempt
to find a diplomatic
solution to the impasse.
Garcia said he believed
the conflict, which used
to be an "internal"
conflict between the
Colombian government and
FARC, is starting to
harm the stability of
relations among
countries on the
continent.
"We do not want to
interfere in internal
affairs, but our
non-interference
principle must not mean
indifference from the
Brazilian side," he
said.
The official also said
the diplomatic forces
must work for the
resumption of
initiatives aimed at
reaching a humanitarian
agreement between the
Colombian government and
FARC.
In response to the
Colombian cross-border
attack on rebels,
Ecuador has cut off its
diplomatic ties with
Colombia, and Venezuela
has recalled its
ambassador to Colombia
and expelled the
Colombian ambassador
from its territory. Both
countries have also
intensified military
presence along their
borders with Colombia.
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