Chavez moves military on Columbian border

[TithonusSyndrome]

He wouldn't... would he?

President Hugo Chavez ordered tanks and thousands of troops sent to Venezuela's border with Colombia on Sunday, accusing his neighbor of pushing South America to the brink of war and saying his government's embassy in Bogota will be closed.

The leftist leader warned Colombia's U.S.-allied government that Venezuela will not permit acts like its killing of top rebel leader Raul Reyes and 16 other Colombian guerrillas Saturday at a camp across the border in Ecuador.

"Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately - tank battalions, deploy the air force," Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio program. "We don't want war, but we aren't going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master (of Colombia) ... to come divide us."

He ordered the Venezuelan Embassy in Bogota closed and said all embassy personnel would be withdrawn. It pushes already tense relations between the South American neighbors to their lowest point yet, with potentially far-reaching effects on billions of dollars in cross-border trade.

Though Chavez didn't say how many troops he was sending, a Venezuelan battalion traditionally has some 600 soldiers - meaning some 6,000 could be headed to the border.

Chavez called the Colombian government "a terrorist state" as he sided with the leftist rebels it has battled for decades, saying its military "invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador's sovereignty."

Chavez said he had just spoken to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and that Ecuador was also sending troops to its border with Colombia. Ecuador, meanwhile, called home its ambassador from Bogota.

Chavez said his Ecuadorean ally told him that Uribe had lied and that the rebels were killed while asleep in their camp.

"This is something very serious. This could be the start of a war in South America," Chavez said. He warned Colombian President Alvaro Uribe: "If it occurs to you to do this in Venezuela, President Uribe, I'll send some Sukhois" - Russian warplanes recently bought by Venezuela.

He called Uribe "a criminal" and saying "Dracula's fangs (are) are covered in blood."

The slaying of Reyes and 16 other guerrillas, Chavez said, "wasn't any combat. It was a cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated."

Neither Colombia's foreign minister nor the country's military leadership would comment on Chavez's latest move when asked by reporters Sunday as they left a funeral service in Bogota for a Colombian soldier killed in Saturday's raid.

Colombia's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have been waging a decades-long battle. Colombia's prosecutor's office said Reyes was wanted in connection with more than 120 different criminal processes, including 60 charges of murder and four for kidnapping.

Speaking in Texas, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said officials were monitoring the situation.

"This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia's efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage," Johndroe said.

Colombia denied it violated Ecuador's sovereignty but acknowledged attacking the camp maintained on Ecuadorean soil by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"The terrorists, among them Raul Reyes, have had the custom of killing in Colombia and taking refuge in the territory of neighboring countries. Many times Colombia has suffered from this situation," Colombia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement released early Sunday.

Correa said Colombia's military violated Ecuadorean airspace and entered to carry away Reyes' body. Colombian officials have long complained that Ecuador's military does not control its sparsely populated border and has not tried to remove rebel camps.

While Ecuador called home its ambassador in protest, that does not entail a "definitive rupture of relations" and commercial ties will remain, Ecuadorean Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said.

Chavez interrupted his program to take a call from Correa and said according to his ally, Colombia's military "entered from the south and bombed from Ecuadorean territory."

Colombia's military tracked Reyes' location through an informant and bombed a camp on its side of the Ecuadorean border, where Reyes was thought to be, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said. He said that when ground troops moved in, they came under attack from another camp across the border in Ecuador. When the military overran that camp, they found Reyes' body.

Chavez interrupted his program Sunday for a moment of silence in honor of the slain rebels.

"We pay tribute to a true revolutionary, who was Raul Reyes," Chavez said later, recalling he had met rebel in Brazil in 1995 and calling him a "good revolutionary."

"The Colombian government has become the Israel of Latin America," an agitated Chavez said, reiterating his criticism of Israeli military strikes on Palestinian militants. "We aren't going to permit Colombia to become the Israel of these lands. ... Uribe, we aren't going to permit you."

"Someday Colombia will be freed from the hand of the (U.S.) empire," Chavez said. "We have to liberate Colombia," he added, saying Colombia's people will eventually do away with its government.

Chavez maintains warm relations with the FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla group, and has sought to play a role as mediator in the conflict despite his growing conflict with Colombia's government.

Colombia and Venezuela have been locked in a diplomatic crisis since November, when Uribe ended Chavez's official role negotiating a proposed hostages-for-prisoners swap.

Nevertheless, the FARC freed four hostages to Venezuelan officials last week, and they were reunited with their families in Caracas. It was the second unilateral release by the FARC this year.

Chavez has recently angered Uribe by urging world leaders to classify the leftist rebels as "insurgents" rather than "terrorists."

The FARC has proposed trading some 40 remaining high-value captives, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors, for hundreds of imprisoned guerrillas.

Chavez said the Colombian military "are guided from the Pentagon." The U.S. government routinely provides satellite intelligence and communications intercepts from surveillance planes that overfly Colombia.

U.S Embassy spokeswoman Suzanne Hall, in Bogota, would not comment on possible American government involvement in the operation that led to Reyes' death.

"This is a government of Colombian operation," she said. "Talk to the government of Colombia for any operational details."

What I know of Chavez suggests he's an attention-seeking blowhard and likes to put on a show. Since there's been no serious lead-in that I know of to this, however, I await the input of those more knowledgeable than I.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I doubt he'd dare. It's one thing to bluster, it's an entirely different matter to invade another country, unless he is that stupid in which case he deserves a smack down.

[cosmicalstorm]

There is a lot of tension around those borders, the Colombians have been spraying huge amounts of poison all over the place to fight the drug producers and that is affecting a lot of decent people.

[Rogue 9]

Is he fucking crazy?

[Balrog]

Is he fucking crazy?

Perhaps he's starting to believe his own propaganda a little too much and really does want to 'liberate' Columbia from the 'evil empire'.

Anyways, what kind of ramifications could we see if there is war in South America, besides the obvious loss of life and local commerce?

[CaptainChewbacca]

Is he fucking crazy?

Perhaps he's starting to believe his own propaganda a little too much and really does want to 'liberate' Columbia from the 'evil empire'.

Anyways, what kind of ramifications could we see if there is war in South America, besides the obvious loss of life and local commerce?

I think America would call Colombia and ask if they would like some close-air-support and a carrier group.

[That NOS Guy]

Is he fucking crazy?

Perhaps he's starting to believe his own propaganda a little too much and really does want to 'liberate' Columbia from the 'evil empire'.

Anyways, what kind of ramifications could we see if there is war in South America, besides the obvious loss of life and local commerce?

Gas prices would certaintly go up, but I have my doubts the US would intervene given that the public doesn't want to go to war with anyone right now, especially over Columbia which I don't think most people could find on a map.

[Adrian Laguna]

When I was told the Colombians had killed a FARC leader my first thought was, "Good news!". I wasn't expecting Chavez to go apeshit. The guy had the gall to declare a national moment of silence in Venezuela in honour of Raul Reyes. Apparently Chavez believes the FARC's bullshit about them being revolutionaries for the people. That's been a blatant lie for years, those guerrillas are a bunch of drug dealers, kidnappers, and extortionists; nothing more than common criminals. Killing them is doing the world a favour. Also, Chavez whining about how the guerrillas were asleep in their camp is a lot of bullshit. So what if it's true? In case he didn't notice there's a state of war between Colombia and the FARC, if either side gets caught sleeping, then tough shit.

[Col. Crackpot]

Chavez isn't stupid enough to give the order. Though I worry about the possibility of lax fire disciple setting of a powder keg.

[scythewielder]

Violating Ecuador's border definitely wasn't a nice thing on Colombia's part, to say the least, but Chávez is overreacting and messing around way more than he should.

I can understand Ecuador's reactions and protests, definitely, but Chávez has really nothing to do there.

There is a lot of tension around those borders, the Colombians have been spraying huge amounts of poison all over the place to fight the drug producers and that is affecting a lot of decent people.

At the request and with the direct cooperation of the U.S. government and related corporations, which probably would complain if those poisons weren't being sprayed at all unless there's a general change in anti-drug policies...of course, that also means the Colombian government currently either lacks the balls to stand up and stop that crap in the first place or sincerely believes those poisons are working in some way, shape or form. Your pick.

[TheKwas]

Chavez has been a predominate meditator in the Columbo-FARC conflict, so although he's over-reacting in typical Chavez fashion, he does have much invested in the peace process and the conflict.

[Omega18]

Gas prices would certaintly go up, but I have my doubts the US would intervene given that the public doesn't want to go to war with anyone right now, especially over Columbia which I don't think most people could find on a map.

There isn't even a remote question of the US not intervening because it would shoot our international credibility to hell if we completely stayed out of it. A victorious Chavez who actually picks up territory could also represent a future threat and destabilizing force for the region.

Its all true the economic effects would also be ugly if the war dragged out which is likely, because Venezuela's Air Force has enough of an edge over Colombia's to cause them allot of problems.

While the impact from boosted oil prices would hurt economically in the short term, once the US gets engaged in this war navally and with its Air Force, I would feel confident the war would be over in a couple of weeks with Venezuela withdrawing from Columbia and seeking peace. A nice thing about the situation is Columbia has a strong enough Army to handle things if we take care of the other areas. If Chavez stubbornly refused to seek peace, I expect the Venezuelan military would depose him in a coup and then seek peace. Continuing a futile war and taking significantly more casualties in the process won't appeal to them.

Keep in mind with regard to the US Air Force that the US is not that far from Venezuela, and the US bomber force in particular could cause a huge amount of damage to military targets with repeated bombing runs once Venezuela's Air Force has been dealt with.

Economic realities mean that as soon as peace is declared Venezuela is going to need to start selling its oil again. The US certainly isn't going to target any significant elements of Venezuela's oil infrastructure during the war.

[Sidewinder]

Why should Venezuela give a damn if the Colombian military violates Ecuadorian airspace? Is there a military treaty or alliance between Venezuela and Ecuador?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Why should Venezuela give a damn if the Colombian military violates Ecuadorian airspace? Is there a military treaty or alliance between Venezuela and Ecuador?

Because His Majesty Chavez the first says so? The guy's a raving lunatic really.

[HemlockGrey]

Because His Majesty Chavez the first says so? The guy's a raving lunatic really.

Let's not go ascribing insanity to a man who has deftly clawed (can you deftly claw?) his way to the top of the food chain and kept his place there despite a vast multitude of enemies. This is nothing more than oldfashioned saber-rattling for domestic consumption. Hero of the people Chavez standing up for socialism and justice against the allies of the imperialists and all that. You can figure that much out from the first few sentences of the article.

[Darth Wong]

Isn't it funny how citizens of America, which maintains a military presence over half the globe and engages in sabre-rattling so often that it's second nature, become alarmed whenever some other country does it. Discuss US military intervention if Chavez actually invades a neighbouring country.

[Master of Ossus]

Is he fucking crazy?

It's been obvious for a long time that he is fucking crazy. I don't think that he's crazy ENOUGH, though.

[Sea Skimmer]

These two nations have traded much worse crap before and it didn’t turn into a war. Chavez is not going to endanger his oil revenue funded socialist paradise regime by shooting his way into one of the worst places on earth. The scale of this reported movement isn’t exactly the most overwhelming thing ever seen anyway.

[CJvR]

Chavez might be an annoying loudmouth, with French tendensies, but he is not really stupid. He is not going to hand the US an excuse to spank him.

[Dahak]

My boyfriend, being Colombian, is quite concerned about this. He doesn't like Chavez in the least, but he got some grudging respect from Colombians for helping to liberate the hostages, which the current President did not seem to make happen.
He just could not understand why the government is actively attacking FARC after they have shown some will to talk. And he's very concerned about the hostages still in FARC's hand, especially Ingrid Betancourt...

[TithonusSyndrome]

Ecuador is getting in on the show of arms too

Ecuador pulls diplomat from Bogota

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Correa calls raid a "massacre" that killed civilians, pulls ambassador
* Strike kills two leading FARC figures, including second-in-command
* Chavez orders 10 battalions to Colombian border, closure of embassy
* Chavez pledges to "support Ecuador in any circumstance"

(CNN) -- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa withdrew his government's ambassador in Bogota, Colombia, and ordered troops to the country's border following a Colombian raid against leftist rebels inside Ecuador.

In a televised address, Correa called a raid by Colombian national police and air force one day earlier a "massacre" that killed civilians.

The strike at dawn Saturday killed two leading figures in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist movement that has fought a guerrilla war against the country's government for some 40 years. One of the dead was FARC's second-in-command, Luis Edgar Devia Silva, known as "Raul Reyes."

The incident has triggered a crisis among the three countries, as Venezuela President Hugo Chavez also ordered 10 battalions of troops to the Colombian border and the closure of Venezuela's embassy in Bogota.

Chavez pledged to "support Ecuador in any circumstance," he said on his weekly talk show, "Alo Presidente," or "Hello, President."

"We don't want war, but we will not allow the North American empire -- which is the master -- and its sub-President [Alvaro] Uribe and the Colombian oligarchy to divide, to weaken us. We will not allow it."

The three countries are neighbors, with Colombia, a U.S. ally, squeezed between Ecuador, to the southwest, and Venezuela, to the east.

In the past two months, Chavez has brokered FARC's release of six hostages, who were among 750 hostages the group is estimated to be holding in the jungles of Colombia.

Reyes, who was a member of the seven-man FARC leadership council known as the general secretariat, played a key mediation role in their release.

Also killed was Guillermo Enrique Torres or "Julian Conrado," who was a key FARC ideologue.

"The Colombian oligarchy says it was combat," said Chavez, whose leftist politics have been credited for his warm relations with the rebel group. "It was not combat. It was a cowardly murder, coldly prepared in its entirety. The truth is coming out."

Chavez said Saturday that the Colombian government had violated Ecuador's sovereignty and added that, had the operation been conducted on Venezuelan soil, he would have declared war against Colombia.

"Colombia's government recognizes -- in a happy and irresponsible attitude -- that it has violated the sovereignty of a neighbor country, and that's worrisome," he said.

"President Uribe, think well. Don't think about doing that over here, don't think it. Because it would very serious, a military raid in Venezuelan territory would be casus belli [cause for war]. There is not any excuse."

Also on Saturday, Correa told reporters in Quito that Uribe told him the raid occurred after a FARC column fled across the border and fired at Colombian forces, who "had to defend themselves."

But Correa said his forces investigated Uribe's claims and discovered that the Colombian planes attacked the guerrillas as they slept in a camp 2 km ( 1.2 mi) inside Ecuador.

"Of course Ecuadoran air space was invaded," he said.

He said Colombian ground forces then crossed into Ecuador and retrieved Reyes' body, leaving the others.

"We will not permit this outrage," he said. "Either President Uribe was misinformed and will have to sanction his commanders who deceived him, breaking every international bilateral proceeding by entering our territory or Uribe simply lied. In either case, the situation is extremely grave and the Ecuadoran government is disposed to go to the ultimate consequences."

Chavez called Uribe a "liar," a "criminal" and a "gangster."

"Colombia is a terrorist state, a subject of the biggest terrorist in the world, the United States government, and all of its imperialist apparatus," Chavez said to applause.

Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos denied that Colombia violated Ecuadoran airspace in the operation..

The White House said Sunday it was "monitoring the situation."

"This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia's efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

FARC has justified hostage-taking as a legitimate military tactic in a long-running and complex civil war that also has involved right-wing paramilitaries, government forces and drug traffickers.

Chavez's showboating is well understood, but why would the Ecuadorian government bother doing it too if Venezuelan troops alone could make enough of an impression? Exercise?

[scythewielder]

Still, Ecuador's Correa hasn't yet approached the same level of rhetoric as Chávez, even if the border is militarized to prevent (or attempt to) any possible incursions, and has said that it will take the matter to the international arena (OAS, the Andean Community, Mercosur). It's a sort of saber rattling, but not nearly on Chavez's level.

Also, reading other versions of Correa's speech, in English and Spanish, I don't recall his ever mentioning any "civilians" so far, though he did indeed consider the event a "massacre" because the guerrillas were bombed to death with apparently little or zero resistance (not that they aren't used to air attacks though...). In any case, his real problem is with the violation of his territory by the Colombian forces.

[Spyder]

Chavez might be an annoying loudmouth, with French tendensies, but he is not really stupid. He is not going to hand the US an excuse to spank him.

French tendancies?

[CJvR]

Chavez might be an annoying loudmouth, with French tendensies, but he is not really stupid. He is not going to hand the US an excuse to spank him.

French tendancies?

Yes earlier in the week he started to fight US cultural Imperialism via the English language.

updated 9:15 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2008
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez’s government is taking its battle against U.S. “imperialism” into Venezuelans’ dictionaries, urging state phone company workers to avoid English-language business and tech terms.

Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV hopes to wean employees and others from words like “staff” (“equipo” is preferred), “marketing” (“mercadeo”) and “password” (“contrasena”).

Stickers and banners printed up by the company exhort Venezuelans to “Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride.”

The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement that Venezuelans must recover Spanish words that are “threatened by sectors that have started a battle for the cultural domination of our nations.”

Other English words targeted include “mouse” (the company prefers “raton”), “meeting” (“reunion”) and “sponsor” (“patrocinador”) — all of which have become common in Latin American countries.

The leftist president has sought to counter what he calls U.S. cultural imperialism on all fronts, financing Venezuelan cinema as an alternative to the “dictatorship of Hollywood” and forcing radio stations to play more Venezuelan music.

English is still taught in schools alongside other languages, however. And Chavez himself often breaks playfully into English during speeches, sometimes to salute his close friend, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying: “How are you, Fidel?”

[Jaepheth]

Yes earlier in the week he started to fight US cultural Imperialism via the English language.

So when exactly did the spread of English change from British Imperialism to American Imperialism?