Friday 23 July 2010

Hugo Chávez breaks diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Colombia

Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic ties with Colombia yesterday after it accused Venezuela of harbouring leftist guerrillas in dozens of camps along the border. Venezuela's president ordered a "maximum alert" on the border and warned that his Andean neighbour could provoke war. "We have no other choice but, out of dignity, to totally break our relations with our brother nation of Colombia," Chávez told state television.

Nice goal, dickhead

Colombia had claimed that Venezuela was sheltering 1,500 rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN), which have waged a decades-long conflict with the Colombian state. Colombia presented maps, photographs, videos and witness testimony in a presentation at a meeting in Washington of the Organisation of American States, a pan-regional body.

Its ambassador to the OAS, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, accused Chávez's administration of tolerating terrorists who murdered, kidnapped and trafficked drugs. "The continent cannot allow this nightmare to spread," said Hoyos, who also accused Venezuela's national guard of shielding the rebels from scrutiny. He asked Venezuela to allow an international commission and journalists to inspect 87 sites where guerrillas allegedly sheltered. "They eat fried pork and get fat in order to rest before launching attacks in Colombia," he said.

Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS, Roy Chaderton, rejected the claims. "There is no evidence, no proof. These are photos taken I don't know where," he said. He did not respond to the inspection request.