Colombia's Uribe swipes at Chavez for rage, vanity

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe swiped at his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on Wednesday, responding to his insults in a diplomatic dispute by saying heads of state should put aside "rage and vanity."

Chavez on Tuesday recalled his ambassador from Bogota and branded the Colombian a "pawn of the empire" in the latest barrage over Uribe's firing of the leftist leader as mediator in talks to free hostages held by Marxist guerrillas.

Uribe, the closest Washington ally in South America, has so far refused to withdraw his Caracas envoy in response to Chavez's attacks as the dispute threatens to damage the $6 billion in bilateral trade between the Andean neighbors.

"Heads of state should think not about their personal rage and their own vanity, but more about the need to respect the people they represent," the conservative Uribe said when asked about Chavez's remarks without naming the Venezuelan leader.

The dispute is the worst between the ideological opposites since 2005 when Chavez withdraw his ambassador after bounty hunters snatched a Colombian rebel from Caracas and dumped him over the border to be arrested by Colombian police.

Colombia had invited U.S.-foe Chavez in August to act as a facilitator over hostages held for years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. contractors.

But Uribe, who has received billions in aid from Washington to counter insurgents and drug traffickers, appeared to lose patience with Chavez's handling of the delicate talks.

Uribe suspended Chavez's role as a mediator last week, saying the leftist broke with protocol by speaking directly to a top Colombian military commander without consulting Bogota.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey in Bogota; editing by Saul Hudson and Eric Beech)