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Colombia-Ecuador Spat
Worsens
An Ecuadorean judge ordered the arrest of a former
Colombian official involved in a 2008 bombing raid
carried out in Ecuador, but Bogota refused to
recognise his jurisdiction, intensifying
cross-border diplomatic tensions.
In March of last year, then-Colombian Defense
Minister Juan Manuel Santos ordered the bombardment
of a rebel camp set up on Ecuador's side of the
border. Among those killed in the raid was Raul
Reyes, a top commander of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Ecuador's leftist government broke off diplomatic
relations over the bombing mission, saying that
Colombia violated its sovereignty. An Ecuadorean
judge from the Amazon region where the raid took
place ordered the arrest of Santos on Monday.
Colombia shot back with a statement saying that the
judge had no right to order the arrest of Santos or
anyone else involved in the bombardment.
"We cannot allow judicial or political terrorism to
deprive Colombians of our right to recover our
security," President Alvaro Uribe said late on
Wednesday. He is popular among voters for his
U.S.-backed crackdown on the cocaine-financed FARC.
"The Colombian government will not let them touch
former minister Santos," the president said.
Uribe is flirting with the idea of running for a
third term next year if his supporters can change
the constitution to allow him another campaign.
Santos is considered Colombia's top alternative
presidential candidate should Uribe not run.
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