Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador Sign a Declaration to End Crisis

From Wesh.com

The presidents of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador Friday signed a declaration to end a crisis sparked when Colombian troops killed a rebel leader and 21 others inside Ecuadoran territory.

“With the promise not to ever again assault a brother country and the request for forgiveness [by Colombia], we can consider this very serious incident resolved,” said Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.

Correa, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe shook hands at the end of what had been a contentious meeting of the Rio Group of Latin American leaders.

In the accord, the leaders condemned Colombia’s action and affirmed that no country has the right to violate the territory of another. Correa and Chavez also accepted Colombia’s apology for the incident and accept that Uribe will not repeat it.

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Hugo Chavez Deploys 1000 of Troops to the Colombia Border

From the AP

Venezuela has nearly completed its deployment of thousands of troops to states along the border with Colombia, a top general said Wednesday.

“Between 85 and 90 percent of the troops are situated,” Gen. Jesus Gonzalez Gonzalez told reporters at a news conference, saying soldiers were largely sent to the border states of Zulia, Tachira and Apure.

He said the movement of troops began Sunday, immediately after President Hugo Chavez ordered 10 battalions deployed to the border in response to a Colombian military strike that killed two dozen leftist rebels on Ecuadorean soil.

 

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Hugo Chavez Closes Venezuela’s Embassy in Colombia and Sent Thousands of Troops to the Countries’ Border

From the AP

President Hugo Chavez ordered Venezuela’s embassy in Colombia closed and sent thousands of troops to the countries’ border Sunday after Colombia’s military killed a top rebel leader.

Chavez told his defense minister: “move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately.” He ordered the Venezuelan Embassy in Bogota closed and said all embassy personnel would be withdrawn.

The announcements by Venezuela’s leftist leader pushed relations to their tensest point of his nine-year presidency, and Chavez warned that Colombia could spark a war in South America. He called the U.S.-allied government in Bogota “a terrorist state” and labelled President Alvaro Uribe “a criminal.”

Chavez condemned Colombia’s slaying of senior rebel commander Raul Reyes and 16 other guerrillas on Saturday, saying they were killed while they slept in a camp across the border in Ecuadorean territory.

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