Colombia defends hitting 'terror' camp in Ecuador
By Hugh Bronstein
BOGOTA, March 23 (Reuters) - Colombia sought to ease rising tensions with Ecuador on Sunday by saying its March 1 military raid into its neighbor's territory was carried out against a rebel camp used to launch terrorist strikes.
The statement from conservative President Alvaro Uribe came after Ecuadorean complaints that one of its citizens may have been killed in the raid that targeted No. 2 FARC rebel leader Raul Reyes.
"The government (of Colombia) reminds the world that the camp of Raul Reyes was used by terrorists to act against the security of the Colombian people," the statement said.
Fears of war in the Andean region were raised this month when Ecuador and Venezuela ordered troops to their borders with Colombia after the raid. But tempers cooled at a regional summit that led to handshakes among the three countries' leaders.
Ecuador cut diplomatic ties with Colombia after the military operation, and warned that tensions will rise if it turns out that an Ecuadorean man was among those killed.
Ecuador's left-wing president, Rafael Correa, last week ordered an investigation after family members of an Ecuadorean locksmith said he was killed in the raid.
Colombian planes bombed the camp belonging to the FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia -- just inside Ecuadorean territory, killing over 20 people including Reyes.
He was the first member of the FARC's secretariat to be killed in the decades-old war. The raid bolstered Uribe's popularity at home to a record 82 percent although most Latin American countries joined Ecuador in condemning the attack.
Uribe, the top U.S. ally in South America, has accused Ecuador and Venezuela of doing little to help combat the FARC.
The rebels hold hundreds of kidnap victims including three U.S. defense contractors taken in 2003 and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, snatched the year before.
Piedad Cordoba, a senator who helped broker the release of six hostages earlier this year, said the March 1 attack dashed hope of any more hostages being freed while Uribe is in power. Uribe's term ends in 2010 but some backers in Congress want to pass a measure allowing the president to run again. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
BOGOTA, March 23 (Reuters) - Colombia sought to ease rising tensions with Ecuador on Sunday by saying its March 1 military raid into its neighbor's territory was carried out against a rebel camp used to launch terrorist strikes.
The statement from conservative President Alvaro Uribe came after Ecuadorean complaints that one of its citizens may have been killed in the raid that targeted No. 2 FARC rebel leader Raul Reyes.
"The government (of Colombia) reminds the world that the camp of Raul Reyes was used by terrorists to act against the security of the Colombian people," the statement said.
Fears of war in the Andean region were raised this month when Ecuador and Venezuela ordered troops to their borders with Colombia after the raid. But tempers cooled at a regional summit that led to handshakes among the three countries' leaders.
Ecuador cut diplomatic ties with Colombia after the military operation, and warned that tensions will rise if it turns out that an Ecuadorean man was among those killed.
Ecuador's left-wing president, Rafael Correa, last week ordered an investigation after family members of an Ecuadorean locksmith said he was killed in the raid.
Colombian planes bombed the camp belonging to the FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia -- just inside Ecuadorean territory, killing over 20 people including Reyes.
He was the first member of the FARC's secretariat to be killed in the decades-old war. The raid bolstered Uribe's popularity at home to a record 82 percent although most Latin American countries joined Ecuador in condemning the attack.
Uribe, the top U.S. ally in South America, has accused Ecuador and Venezuela of doing little to help combat the FARC.
The rebels hold hundreds of kidnap victims including three U.S. defense contractors taken in 2003 and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, snatched the year before.
Piedad Cordoba, a senator who helped broker the release of six hostages earlier this year, said the March 1 attack dashed hope of any more hostages being freed while Uribe is in power. Uribe's term ends in 2010 but some backers in Congress want to pass a measure allowing the president to run again. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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