Chavez Sends Troops to Colombian Border
In Venezuela Hugo Chavez Claims Colombian Conspiracy: Venezuela News
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez increased tensions in the ongoing conflict between Venezuela and Colombia by ordering more than 15,000 Venezuelan troops to the border states of Zulia, Tachire, Apure, Bolivar and Amazonas in early November 2009. Chavez's troop deployment is motivated in part by the March 2008 killing of FARC leader Luis Édgar Devia Silva (aka Raúl Reyes) by Colombian authorities on Ecuadoran soil, a violation of Ecuador's sovereignty.
In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez fears a similar move on the part of Colombian forces may compromise Venezuelan government rule. The move to deploy troops to the Colombian border is the latest in a series of clashes between these South American neighbors, as violence from Colombia's FARC rebel group spills over into Venezuela.
FARC Violence in Colombia Spills Into Venezuela
In Venezuela Hugo Chavez has ruled as a left-leaning president lending verbal support for FARC's Marxist goals. That support faded in the mid-2000s when the FARC violence campaign included the kidnapping and killings of high-profile foreigners. The Venezuelan government claims that Colombian president Álvaro Uribe is using the FARC violence as a cover for attempting to infiltrate Venezuela.
Venezuela News and Colombia Relations
Colombia's Uribe administration has hinted for years that in Venezuela Hugo Chavez has been secretly aiding the FARC rebels in their efforts to overthrow the democratically-elected regime in Colombia. In July 2009 Colombia announced that it found Swedish weapons in a FARC camp. The weapons were, according to Colombian officials, from Venezuela's purchases of such weapons from Sweden in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela Hugo Chavez has expressed deep concern for growing cooperation between the United States and Colombia on the issue of U.S. access to Colombian military bases. Chavez claims that the agreement between the U.S. and Colombia is a threat to the Venezuelan government.
Venezuelan Government and U.S.-Colombian Affairs
On November 10, 2009 both Brazil and the United States urged Chavez to withdraw his troops and to resume diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between Venezuela and Colombia within days of Chavez's planned troop advance. U.S.-Colombian affairs and a recent treaty between the two countries have provoked Chavez to argue that he must prepare Venezuela for war if Colombia is lining up U.S. support.
On November 13, 2009 Colombian authorities seized four Venezuelan members of the national guard. The men were traveling by boat on Colombian territory. The incident added further to the tensions between the Venezuelan government and Colombia. Colombian President Uribe promised to release the four Venezuelan guard members within 24 hours of their capture, in an effort to relax tensions, while also appealing to Chavez for the release of a Colombian detective detained by the Venezuelan government while on vacation.
To learn more about the origins of the Venezuela-Colombia conflict, read FARC - Violence in Colombia.
References:
Chavez to Troops: Prepare for War with Colombia
Colombia to return Venezuela national guard troops
"FARC" in Extremist Groups, eds. Lerner, K. Lee and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Thomson Gale: Farmington Hills, MI, 2005.
Murillo, Mario Alfonso, and Jesus Rey Avirama, Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism, and Destabilization. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003.
Hugo Chavez: Venezuela News
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Álvaro Uribe: FARC Violence
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