President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that he was putting relations
with neighboring Colombia "in the freezer," while Colombia's Alvaro
Uribe charged that Chavez was seeking a rebel government in
Bogota.
"I am putting (Colombia) on ice because I no longer trust anyone
in the government and because they acted in a truly inappropriate
manner," Chavez said.
Chavez also described his Colombian counterpart Uribe as "a
liar" after Uribe barred him from mediating with the nation's
rebels.
Speaking on a television broadcast, Chavez said he had ordered a
ministerial commission to review the two nations' ties in trade,
economy, energy and military after his suspension from mediation
with Colombia's anti-government group the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Responding to the remarks, Uribe charged that Chavez was seeking
a FARC government in Bogota, saying that "Your words, your
positions, suggest you are not interested in peace in Colombia, but
rather in Colombia becoming the victim of a terrorist government of
the FARC."
Uribe said that Colombia needs a mediation with terrorists but
not people who try to lend legitimacy to terrorism.
Chavez had been trying to mediate between the FARC and the
Colombian government for the release of hostages held by the rebel
group, including Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian citizen who
was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency.
However, Chavez was fired of his mediation role on Wednesday
after the Colombian government said it was angered by Chavez's
speaking directly to Colombian generals about the negotiations.
Chavez said he was disappointed that Uribe had failed to contact
him when faced with rumors and misunderstandings.
The Venezuelan president also warned that Colombian businesses
should prepare themselves for sanctions to be announced in coming
days.
In a Saturday statement, the Colombian government said it seeks
to maintain good relations with Venezuela and will continue to seek
the so-called Humanitarian Exchange via different channels.
The "Exchange" is a shorthand used in Colombia to describe a
planned swap of around 50 high-level hostages held by the FARC for
around 500 FARC fighters held in Colombian jails.
Venezuela and Colombia have 2,200 km of shared border and 6
billion U.S. dollars of trade each year, making them among Latin
America's most active trade partners.
In October, the two nations opened the first stretch of the
trans-Caribbean natural gas pipeline, which is also expected to be
extended to Panama and Ecuador.
(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2007)
