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Bolivia wants emergency Venezuela-Colombia summit
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Colombia's Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez (R) gestures during a news conference at the Andean Community headquarters in Lima July 22, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Enrique Castro-Mendivil
LA PAZ |
LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales called on Saturday for an emergency meeting of South American presidents to resolve a stand-off between Colombia and neighboring Venezuela that has raised tensions in the Andes.
Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, a staunch critic of the United States, severed ties with U.S. ally Colombia on Thursday after Bogota accused his oil-producing country of harboring leftist rebels on its territory.
Morales, a close ally of Chavez, warned that the region was on the brink of war due to the pro-U.S. policies of Colombia's outgoing President Alvaro Uribe, and said the South American Nations Union, or Unasur, must seek a peaceful end to the dispute.
"I want to ask the head of Unasur, Ecuadorean President (Rafael) Correa, to call an emergency meeting of the 12 presidents of Unasur so we can resolve these problems between Colombia and Venezuela," Morales in a televised speech.
"A war is in the making and Bolivia, along with the presidents of the Unasur, should not allow that war to happen between brother countries."
Most analysts believe a military clash is unlikely, despite the harsh rhetoric. The Venezuela-Colombia border remained calm on Saturday.
DISMISSED AS A HOAX
Chavez has dismissed the Colombian allegations as a hoax and says they are a pretext for a possible U.S.-backed invasion of his country -- an OPEC member and South America's biggest oil producer. He accuses Uribe's government of being an instrument of U.S. "imperialism.
At a function to mark the birthday of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar on Saturday, the Venezuelan leader reiterated his position that the charges were part of an international plot to undermine his socialist project.
"The preparation phase of the international community, with the help of Colombia, is in full swing," he said, adding that he had been warned it might include plans to kidnap or kill him.
Chavez's breaking of ties with Bogota has ratcheted up tensions in a volatile Andean region long plagued by clashing ideologies, heavily armed guerrilla armies and drug gangs.
Uribe will be succeeded by newly elected Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on August 7. Chavez says he hopes ties, which were turbulent with Uribe, can return to normal under Santos, who has so far been careful to avoid public comment on the rift.
Santos, who played a major role in Uribe's military sweeps against Marxist guerrilla groups when he was Colombia's defense minister, has said he favors dialogue with Caracas.
Bilateral trade that once amounted to $7 billion a year has plummeted since Chavez cut commercial ties last year in protest at a deal allowing U.S. forces to use Colombian bases. Analysts say both countries could lose if the dispute deepens.
(Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago in Caracas; Writing by Alonso Soto in Santiago and Daniel Wallis in Caracas; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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Not only does he continuously threaten Colombia with invasion he also taunts the US and the American people.
But you would have known that if you read the article. So instead of making comments about the US taking other countries resources how about you inform yourself of whats happening in other countries before making stupid comments. Or your probably just some code pink communist. Comunista malparido!
First of all, Cuba is safe from US because of Castro, who is the greatest of his generation in the whole Western Hemisphere. Stop feeding yourself of corporate propaganda. Chavez never threaten to invade Colombia. For what reason? So he can get their cocaine economy?
Whether you like Chavez or not, he does more for the common person than any US president ever did. He has never sold weapons to dictators to kill their own citizens and wage wars on other countries. He has never invaded any country. He has never bombed another country. He has never killed Venezuelan citizens as a pretext for war. He gave Venezuelans free medical care. It costs less than $5 to fill up a car tank in Venezuela. US can do the same, but instead corporations pump oil from public land for nothing and turn around and sell it at high price.
Chavez like Castro does not want corporations taking advantage of citizens of their respective countres. But most US citizens can’t understand that because history in the US is taught on corporate television stations that spew propaganda.
Chavez gave free heating oil to US citizens when oil prices were manipulated by Western corporations. Even the US government will not do that. These greedy corporations instead kept raising the price of oil until they destroyed the US economy. Cuba is more prepared for hurricanes and storms than the US. That is what a responsible government is supposed to do for the citizens, not sending young men and women to die fighting wars for corporations.
Get your head out of Fox News and other garbage, so you can know the truth. Chavez does not taunt American people. If he does, taunt him back, don’t lie about him. He is a good man. Yes, he is a socialist. The world today cannot exist without socialism. Public institutions like school, army, navy, police, fire dept, are all socialism. And they all exist and support American capitalism. If socialism is so bad, why was $700 billion dollars of public fund given to American corporations so they can survive the mess they created? If it is good for them, why is not good for everyone else? Why does Bank of America get a bailout, while millions of Americans are losing their homes? Socialism is good for the wealthy, but bad for poor people? In Venezuela, everyone gets to share in public wealth. In the US, the rich get to keep their money, their kids go to best schools, while the poor go to war and pay the taxes.
Chavez was once poor, so he understands what poor people go through in life. American leaders get to be presidents as millionaires, so they have no idea what life is like for an ordinary person. They fed their propaganda to the corporate TVs, which in turn fed it to the public.
If Colombia is so successful with capitalism, why does it depend on cocaine economy? The oil in Venezuela belong to citizens of Venezuela, not foreign oil companies. I am glad there is a leader wise enough to distribute the proceeds from this natural resources to the right owners.
BRAVO Chavez! God bless you!
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