Venezuela Moves Troops To Colombia Border

Diplomats Try To Head Off Conflict; Bush Accuses Chavez Of "Provocative Maneuvers"

(AP) 
Colombia was well aware that Reyes was a key hostage negotiator with Spain, Switzerland, and France, whose president Nicolas Sarkozy has made a priority of pressing for the freedom of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French national kidnapped by the rebels more than six years ago.

The rebels said in a communique Tuesday that Reyes died "completing a mission to arrange, through President Chavez, a meeting with President Sarkozy" aimed at securing Betancourt's release.

Sarkozy said last week that Betancourt could be near death, and that her "martyrdom is the martyrdom of France."

Correa claims his government also was working for a hostage swap, denying Colombian allegations that he was deepening political relations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. "All of this was frustrated by the war-mongering, authoritarian hands" of the Colombian government," Correa complained.

Publicly, there had been little indication of progress toward a swap of 40 high-value FARC hostages, who also include three U.S. military contractors, for hundreds of jailed guerrillas.

Saturday's raid followed the FARC's release last week of four hostages to Venezuela's justice minister, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, who said Colombia wanted to "hamper the handover of hostages, because that is the path of peace."

The bombing not only wrecked any chance of Chavez and Correa brokering more hostage releases on Colombian soil, it also scored an intelligence bonanza when commandos seized three laptops from the camp.

Among the incriminating documents: evidence that Chavez gave the rebels $300 million for an "armed alliance," according to national Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Oscar Naranjo.

Other documents suggest rebels were seeking to buy uranium, Naranjo said, without providing details. The claim was repeated without evidence by Colombia's vice president, Francisco Santos, at the disarmament forum in Geneva.

Both Venezuela and Ecuador dismissed the allegations as lies.

Several Latin American leftist leaders have suggested the U.S. was intimately involved in executing the raid by 60 Colombian commandos that killed Reyes. U.S. satellite intelligence and communications intercepts have put the FARC on the defensive, the Colombian military has said.

But the U.S. Southern Command would neither confirm or deny American military participation on Tuesday. "We do provide intelligence support to partner nations but I can't get into details on operations," spokesman Jose Ruiz told the AP from Miami.

Venezuela later produced a laptop of its own. Also without offering any details, it said the computer belonged to a Colombian drug trafficker and contained documents implicating Naranjo in the cocaine trade.

Uribe's decision to attack Ecuadorean territory also reflected Colombia's long frustration over the rebels' ability to obtain refuge just outside its borders.

Uribe complained Tuesday that he provided Chavez with precise information on the location of FARC camps in Venezuela - one of which, he alleged, was home to rebel leader Ivan Marquez.

Chavez and Correa have denied providing support to the rebels in their territories. Correa said Ecuador has "captured" 47 rebel camps in Ecuador during his presidency - "And they ask me if we are accomplices of the FARC?"

In a communique Tuesday, the FARC announced that Reyes' leadership position would be filled by Milton de Jesus Toncel, also known as "Joaquin Gomez," a 61-year-old veteran who repeatedly defeated Colombia's military in the 1990s and later acted as a peace negotiator with one of Uribe's predecessors.

[amazedd]

Let''s dance
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let''s dance
To the song they''re playin'' on the radio

[leftyintexas]

war finding its way inside our borders would make it easy to deal with liberal traitors...HANGING TIME..

Posted by libsrweak at 12:23 AM : Mar 05, 2008

Blow hards like you certainly aren''t man enough to try it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Only 321 days left! Enjoy!

[leftyintexas]

President George W. Bush accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of making "provocative maneuvers"

An excellent example of the POT calling the kettle black. Two twins separated at birth.

[drputt45]

Hugo ''Fidel'' Chavez has Napoleon syndrome. Little man, big mouth. He has too much money to control and his people have none. He should spend the money in his own country (and so should we).

[barbarossa_t]

God save us from you people!
They should take away your vote until you are educated to at least the standard of a normal 7 year old.
Cretins...

[squidly8]

mh4cbs1, you are joking right about the democracy in Venezuela right? Even Jimmy Carter has issues with their electoral process.

http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/venezuela.html

[jackie0428]

The US needs to quietly tell Colombia: "Ignore Venezuela and these deployments. Ignore it and go about business as usual. And, if Chavez is stupid enough to attack you or invade Colombia, rest assured the US Air Force will help you bomb holy he*ll out Chavez''s ground forces." Look, Chavez is simply trying to goad Colombia into confronting and engaging them. Chavez wants a conflict to distract his people away from the fact that his country is failing, his government is a farce, and the future is bleak. Chavez knows that the fastest way to become more powerful is to have an external threat to be in a war with. Chavez is pure scum.

[telecom_1]

Chavez is the Devil!!!

[pensacola88]

$300 million is nothing to sneeze at! Chavez has to answer to his people why he diverts revenues from his lucerative oil exports for a terrorist cause.

[quetzal0666]

Bush cant afford onother War.
Even if he comes to the Defence of his shoeShine boy, Alvaro Uribe ......

[itstrouble]

Chavez is a US copycat, for the last 90 years the US express wanted nothing more than peace. Until Chavez rise no other Venezuelan President even brought to issue the idea of peace. Chavez has expressed a deep desire for peace and doing so has equip the country with a multi-billion dollar arms arsenal. Chavez so intent on peace, surely a war will breakout soon just a US copy.

[watcher269-2009]

Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a measure that would instruct police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President *** Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution," local media reported.

---

It''''s time to NUKE Vermont! Heeheehee

[watcher269-2009]

Time to Send troops to Columbia - we have enough money to fight 3 wars - then just think! We can invade Venezuela for their OIL!!!

Yes - that''s what we should have done in the first place - darnit - if only one of those terrorists on 9-11 was Venezuelan, we could have invaded them.

Invade, InVaDe, INVADE!

[libsrweak]

ITS TIME TO START WORLD WAR III..time to rid the world of the weak, the stupid and the liberals

war finding its way inside our borders would make it easy to deal with liberal traitors...HANGING TIME..

[libsrweak]

Posted by mh4cbs1 at 11:50 PM : Mar 04, 2008
+ report abuse
*********************

but yet you still prefer to live with bush than with chavez WHY IS THAT????????

[mh4cbs1]

What a joke! Our war criminal President who deliberately LIED us into a friggin INVASION of a foreign nation actually accuses Chavez of "provacative maneuvers"?? War criminal Bush belongs IN JAIL for his war crimes.

"President George W. Bush accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of making "provocative maneuvers" and said the U.S. stands with Colombia, its right-leaning ally in a region now dominated by leftists.

[mh4cbs1]

wesleyji:

You sound a little frustrated. Its no wonder - the days of US assassinations, bloody coups, support of brutal dictators, and theft of natural resources in the South American nations are finally coming to an end!

You are probably frustrated that Chavez is so popular, and democracy is so strong in Venezuela. After all Chavez was elected in a landslide, while fascist baby bush had to steal his wins and has a popularity of about 19%, after having run our nation into the ground and shredding our constitution.

Eventually the Columbian people will throw off the shackles of the American empire and the super wealthy ruling class that exploits them.

Yes, it must be a sad day for you fascist right wing slimebags. After the Bush/Cheney fiasco, where they LIED us into needless war costing hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives, Americans are ready to end the NeoCon Nightmare and the sick and disgusting American empire as well!

[beehive21-2009]

War,huh,the third worlders going to get it on ,we cannot wait ,show us your stuff ?

[jlwesley]

Typical left wing and liberal ***, it is ok for Ecuador and Venezuela to support and protect the rebels, it is ok for the rebels to strike across the boder then jump back, but it is not ok for Columbia to strike back in retaliation and to protect itself.

Time to tell Chaves and his cronies including Castro to shove off, the follow up with whatever it takes to get rid of them, up to and including assassination.