COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Conflict Heating Up -
Again
By Humberto
Márquez
CARACAS (IPS) - The latest row between
Colombia and Venezuela continues to
escalate, prompting Brazil to decide to
intervene, in order to head off further
incidents or statements that could lead to a
rupture of ties between its two neighbours.
Washington, meanwhile, is staying out of the
fray. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly
said it is not really the business of the
United States.
"We would encourage the two governments to
solve these differences by means of
dialogue," he added.
Organisation of American States (OAS)
Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza also
issued "a call for dialogue to work things
out in a spirit of reconciliation, and to
refrain from taking measures that would
affect a great number of people."
Insulza underscored the economic ties
between Venezuela and Colombia, the most
dynamic in the Andean region, whose
bilateral trade amounted to nearly 7.3
billion dollars in 2008 – 6.0 billion of
which represented exports by Colombia –
generating tens of thousands of jobs.
Relations between Bogota and Caracas have
been marked by ups and downs in the second
half of this decade. The current impasse
began when Colombia announced in mid-July
that it would allow five of its military
bases to be used by U.S. forces.
"This is aggression against Venezuela. They
are hemming us in on our left flank,"
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said at the
time, ordering a "complete review" of ties
with Colombia, withdrawing Venezuela's
ambassador from Bogotá, and threatening to
freeze imports from Colombia and take action
against companies from that country
operating in Venezuela.
The tension rose further when the Colombian
government of Álvaro Uribe said a few days
later that three shoulder-fired AT4 grenade
launchers sold to Venezuela by Sweden in
1988 – 10 years before Chávez was first
elected as president – were confiscated from
a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
camp in October 2008.
An Uribe administration statement said that
on Jun. 2, Colombian officials discreetly
asked the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry for
information on the grenade launchers and
provided it with a report in which two FARC
leaders purportedly stated that the purchase
of the weapons had been arranged with three
high-level Venezuelan government officials.
On Thursday, the Chávez administration
responded with a communiqué in which it
expressed its "indignation over the
irresponsibility with which the Colombian
government has destroyed efforts to build
bilateral relations to the benefit of the
people of both nations, jeopardising peace
and stability in the region."
"This new conflict highlights two political
poles that have emerged in Latin America,
depending on the countries' relations with
the United States. And unfortunately for
integration and cooperation efforts, Latin
Americans are compelled to identify with one
pole or the other," Carlos Romero, director
of graduate studies in international
relations at Venezuela's Central University,
told IPS.
Chávez and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva discussed the latest tiff
between Venezuela and Colombia, and the
Brazilian leader decided to send his foreign
affairs adviser, Marco Aurelio García, to
Caracas.
Brazil "is willing to work to restore trust
between Colombia and Venezuela," said
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
At a press conference given with Chilean
President Michelle Bachelet, Lula expressed
reservations about U.S. bases operating in
Colombia: "I don't like the idea, but since
I wouldn't want anyone sticking their noses
into Brazil's affairs, I won't meddle in
Colombia's affairs.
"At some point we will have to discuss this
with (U.S.) President (Barack) Obama," said
Lula.
Bachelet said she "fully concurred" with
Lula, and added that Colombia's decision
"affects all of the countries (in the
region), which are uneasy." She said the
issue will be discussed at the next summit
of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR),
slated for Aug. 10 in Quito.
The meeting in Ecuador could offer an
opportunity for reconciliation, similar to
what occurred in March 2008 at the Rio Group
summit in Santo Domingo, a few days after
the Colombian military bombed a FARC camp in
northern Ecuador on Mar. 1, killing the
insurgent group’s international spokesman,
Raúl Reyes, and at least 20 other
guerrillas.
In response to the cross-border bombing raid
on the rebel camp, Ecuadorean President
Rafael Correa broke off relations with
Bogotá, and Chávez mobilised troops to
Venezuela's border with Colombia. A war of
words ensued.
But at a summit of leaders of the Rio Group
– the main regional policy coordination
forum – a few days later, Chávez opened the
door to reconciliation, saying "Let’s stop
this. Let’s be cool-headed and act like
rational people, because if we continue,
this will keep heating up."
Host President Leonel Fernández of the
Dominican Republic took it from there,
calling for hugs, and the week-long
political and diplomatic crisis came to an
end.
In the latest exchange of verbal broadsides
between Venezuela and Colombia, there has
been no mention of mobilising troops, but
there has been talk of new purchases of
weapons. Chávez announced that he would
double Venezuela's fleet of tanks with the
purchase of new equipment from Russia.
The Venezuelan army has 80 tanks, mainly old
French-made AMXs.
The alliance between Venezuela and Russia
has aggravated the tension. Colombia,
defending its decision to lend bases to the
U.S., said it never objected when Venezuela
welcomed Russian forces to its territory.
Venezuela replied that Bogotá should define
whether it sees Russia as an enemy or
aggressor, because Caracas does consider
itself the target of hostility from the
United States.
In the last five years, Venezuela has bought
4.4 billion dollars in war planes,
helicopters, assault rifles and other
weapons from Russia.
This week a bilateral agreement expanded
that client-supplier relationship to
effective cooperation, with technology
sharing, joint maneuvers and closer military
ties.
According to Romero, the Moscow-Caracas
alliance "is not comparable to the Cold War
alliance between Cuba and the ex-Soviet
Union, but undoubtedly has an important
symbolic meaning" in the context of the
current polarisation in the region. |
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