Chavez Calls For Cooling Of Tensions

Venezuelan, Ecuadorean, Colombian Presidents Attend Summit, Annother FARC Leader Is Dead

(AP)  Colombia's foreign minister announced Friday that a second important FARC rebel leader had been killed while earlier in the day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for a cooling of tensions with Colombia and predicted a summit of Latin American presidents in this seaside capital "is going to be positive."

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez opened the 20-nation Rio Group summit with a call for unity.

"What is least helpful in these moments in our Latin America ... is to act in a disunited way," Fernandez said. Uribe and Chavez, separated by two seats, listened intently.

The summit was to have focused on energy and other issues, but the diplomatic crisis in the Andes now has center stage. It was triggered by a deadly Colombian cross-border raid into Ecuador on Saturday that killed a senior Colombian rebel.

"People should go cool off a bit, chill out their nerves," Chavez told journalists at his hotel before leaving for the summit at the foreign ministry of the Dominican Republic. "I think the meeting today is going to be positive, because it is going to help the debate. We have to debate, talk, and this is the first step toward finding the road."

Chavez has ordered thousands of troops and tanks to Venezuela's border with Colombia and threatened to slash trade and nationalize Colombian-owned businesses. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has also sent troops to the border, although Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said he won't do the same.

The summit marks the first face-to-face encounters between Chavez, Correa and Uribe since the international crisis began.

Correa told reporters he wants Uribe to apologize for the attack in Ecuadorean territory and give his "formal and firm commitment" that Colombia will never "violate" the sovereignty of another country.

On his arrival in Santo Domingo late Thursday, Chavez took shots at Colombia and the United States, which has supported the Andean nation with more than $4 billion in counterinsurgency and anti-drug aid since 2000.

"The U.S. empire has taken over Colombia," Chavez said.

Chavez claimed the strike that killed Raul Reyes, a top leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was "planned and directed by the United States." Later, he said he had information that "gringo soldiers" participated in the attack, but provided no evidence.

U.S. Southern Command spokesman Jose Ruiz neither confirmed or denied this week that the U.S. military took part in the attack that killed Reyes and 23 others.

Uribe is hugely popular among Colombians for cracking down on the FARC, which finances itself through kidnapping and drug trafficking. He declined to comment on the crisis as he arrived in the Dominican Republic.

Uribe has defended the attack as necessary given Ecuador's inaction against Colombian rebel camps in its territory. Colombia complains that rebels take refuge across the border in Ecuador and Venezuela and has accused their leftist leaders of backing the fighters - a claim the leaders deny.

Uribe has refused to rule out future military incursions into Ecuador or Venezuela, saying he first needs assurances from Correa and Chavez that they are not harboring rebels.

The crisis widened Thursday when Nicaragua broke off relations with Colombia. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who is also attending the summit, is an ally of Chavez and Correa.

Latin American foreign ministers on Thursday drafted a statement saying national sovereignty must be respected. The draft, to be submitted to the presidents on Friday, mirrors one earlier in the week from the Organization of American States, said Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley.

One of the rare regional voices offering support for Colombia was Salvadoran President Tony Saca, who said the Colombian government should be able to defend its citizens.

"We need to understand Colombia has the legitimate right to go after terrorists ... wherever they may be, of course without harming the sovereignty of another country," Saca said on arrival in Santo Domingo.

Colombia's defense minister said Friday that another FARC leader had been killed by one of his own guerrillas.

"The FARC has suffered a new, major blow," Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said at a news conference, calling Rios' death "yet another demonstration that the FARC are falling apart."

Santos said troops launched an operation designed to capture Rios on Feb. 17 after receiving tips that he was in a mountainous area straddling the western provinces of Caldas and Antioquia, and engaged the guerrillas' outer security ring seven times.

Thursday night, he said, a guerrilla known as Rojas came to the troops with Rios' severed right hand, laptop computer and ID, saying he had killed his boss three days earlier.

It was unclear what motivated Rojas to kill his boss, but Santos said it was to "relieve the military pressure" because the rebels were "surrounded, without supplies and without communication."

The U.S. State Department has a standing bounty of $5 million for Rios' capture.

In Ecuador, Security Minister Gustavo Larrea said the army captured five suspected FARC rebels on Thursday. The suspects were nabbed "a few meters from the Colombian border," in the general area where the raid took place, Larrea said.

[libsrweak]

my assessment of the matter is: chavez had overestimated his tactic. Hoping that the ''world'' would react in fear. Like they said..''a dog that barks a lot but not really much bite'' humm kinda like what a liberal fa ggot would lug around..a chihuhahua

[andyli1004]

It is clear that they can run. It is stupid to protect them! Internet is a good place to share information and meet friends. I recently found a nice web site called pubspa.com where you can meet friends who have same interest in beauty care, massage, wellness and spa treatment. You can also share blog, video, game, photos, etc with people from all over the world. Unlike other online dating sites where you have to pay membership fee, this site is totally free. I already made several interesting friends there.

[gkc99]

The Latinos are at it again! Was there ever a more incompetent and laughable group of politicians (except Bushit and the U.S. Fascist party)?

[itstrouble]

Chavez Calls For Cooling Of Tensions, means he is not yet ready for war. Chavez got commitments from Ecuador and Nicaragua and that was very satisfying. His war intentions will come out again, just that he needs more time before he begins the actual all out war.

[pensacola88]

I vomit on Hugo Chavez. Who does he thing he is? He gives $300 million dollars to a top FARC narco-terrorist commander who kidnaps and murders Colombians and expects others to respect territory every time he is chased across a boudary!

Any country can go after any terrorist any time - no questions asked! Mexican President Felipe Calderon started his term in office going after narco-terrorists in Mexico and some have fled to Ecuador to run their operations over there. It is clear that they can run. It is stupid to protect them!

Hugo Chavez has a very long tail of a rat that grows longer every day!

The Colombians have acted admirably and show resolve to deal with their lawless neighbors. It is clear Venezuala and Ecuador now harbor narco-terrorists.

[ressigmann]

to Keithle1
I am pleased you and your cats are warm, I am less than pleased that Chavez seems to have purchased your loyalty. Incidentally he doesn''t care about you (there are plenty of dirt poor people in his country he could be trying to save).

[ressigmann]

Chavez has worked so hard to cause this problem, it is odd that he would suddenly try to re-cast himself as a peacemaker.

[keithle1]

I love those TV spots that they put on during the winter about The Great Hero Chavez offering cheap oil to poor American people. One of the Kennedy clan is in it. CITGO-the Venezuelan company.

Old lady: "The water in my toilet froze last winter. Thanks to Mr. Chavez, I''m warm & toasty. So are my 500 cats!"

[libsrweak]

CINDY SHEEHAN HAS BIGGER BALLS THAN THIS BIG BAG OF SOUTH AMERICAN SOCIALIST/LIBERAL EXCREMENT.

[libsrweak]

no wonder why liberals love people like saddam and chavez..pretty much like themselves..act tough and all bullsh*t..and when things gets hot..THEY WHINNNNNNNNEEEE

[ontheleft]

C''mon Chavez. I thought we were going to see $150 a barrel oil by May. Can''t you do any better? Nuke those Colombians already.

[libsrweak]

When is Pat Robertson going to kill him in the name of Jesus?

Posted by shanev137 at 09:04 PM : Mar 07, 2008
+ report abuse

**********

I guess Pat was right when he said..a dead chavez then could had saved the world a lot of woes..ONE LESS CRIMINAL AND ONE LESS LIBERAL HERO

[libsrweak]

Posted by IOWEIGN at 11:12 PM : Mar 07, 2008
+ report abuse

*******

you just again proved my point..you and hugo are the same...if you peel all the sh*t..you get a pink gooey center..and I smell puss y..

[ioweign]

no wonder liberals love this guy hugo..he is nothing but a loud-mouth p ussy

Posted by libsrweak at 09:02 PM : Mar 07, 2008

"I''m the commander %u2014 see, I don''t need to explain %u2014 I do not need to explain why I say things. That''s the interesting thing about being president."

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we''re really talking about peace."

"If this were a dictatorship, it''d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I''m the dictator."

"My answer is bring them on."


From the AWOL

[stevex47]

I have a feeling something happened behind the scenes for this guy to do a 180 change of his tune.

Maybe this administration? or economic reality from cutting ties to Columbia?

[shanev137]

When is Pat Robertson going to kill him in the name of Jesus?

[libsrweak]

no wonder liberals love this guy hugo..he is nothing but a loud-mouth p ussy

[tomanyt]

Hugo Chavez''s mother should have thrown him out with the bath water. Seriously, this guy is some kinda nut!

[jauchak]

In Spanish, the "ez" raw means "son of". So, Rodriguez= Son of Rodrigo; Marquez= Son of Marco; Ramirez= Son of Ramiro; Martinez= Son of Martin; Chavez= Son of a ***.

[cfin5]

it seems chavaz must be bipolar. his actions change like the wind

Posted by oreoweb678 at 07:38 PM : Mar 07, 2008------He''s a user man. That''s how they are.