Regional tensions increased Sunday as Venezuela and Ecuador boosted military deployment on their Colombian borders, following Colombia's anti-rebel action along its border with Ecuador.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday he was immediately sending troops, tanks and fighter aircraft to the Colombian frontier. "We don't want a war, but we are not going to allow them to violate our territorial sovereignty," he said during his weekly TV and radio program
Chavez said Ecuador was also moving troops to its northern border (with Colombia), adding that his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa could "count on Venezuela for whatever it needs, in any situation."
Chavez also ordered the closure of the Venezuelan embassy in the Colombian capital Bogota.
Chavez's remarks came after the Colombian military killed Raul Reyes, second-in-command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest anti-government group, in an attack on a jungle camp across the Colombia-Ecuador border on Saturday. Ecuador has recalled its ambassador to Bogota, calling the raid a violation of its territorial sovereignty while warning that the Colombian action may result in "ultimate consequences."
It could be the start of a South American war, warned Chavez, who has been engaged in a dispute with his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe, sparked by the FARC hostage issue.
Chavez had been trying to mediate between FARC and the Colombian government for the release of hundreds of hostages.
However, Uribe abruptly called a halt to Chavez's mediatory role last November, alleging that the Venezuelan president had spoken directly with a Colombian general about the hostage issue, in violation of their agreement.
Chavez responded by putting bilateral ties "in the freezer" and withdrew the Venezuelan ambassador from Bogota, saying Colombia deserved a better president.
Despite his war of words with Uribe, Chavez has this year helped facilitate the unilateral release of six high-profile hostages by FARC.
ECUADOR RECALLS AMBASSADOR FROM COLOMBIA
Ecuador has decided to withdraw its ambassador from northern neighbor Colombia in protest against "a transgression of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity" by the Colombian army and warned that the move would result in "ultimate consequences."
According to Ecuador, Reyes was killed in Angostura, a region in the northern Ecuadorian province of Sucumbios.
The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister has lodged a formal protest with Bogota.
Correa said on television late Sunday that he had ordered the expulsion of the Colombian ambassador to Quito and had ordered troops to the border area.
Shortly after Correa's order, the Colombian government accused Correa of having ties with FARC.
"In the belongings of Raul Reyes found by the police and the Colombian forces were three computers ... in the next few minutes Police Commander General Oscar Naranjo will show document found in those computers which show evidence that the president of Ecuador, President Correa, has relations with the FARC," a Colombian presidential spokesman told reporters.
In a statement issued earlier the same day, Correa, who had canceled a visit to Cuba to deal with the situation at home, denounced Colombia's move as "the worst aggression suffered by Ecuador."
But Ecuador's Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told local media that the measure does not imply the end of Ecuador-Colombia ties because trade links remain, and that bilateral relations could return to normal if the clarification of the circumstances satisfies Ecuador.
Ecuador has already said it will seek compensation from Colombia and will appeal to the international courts if necessary to guarantee its territorial integrity.
COLOMBIA DENIES VIOLATION OF ECUADOR'S SOVEREIGNTY, BOOSTS SECURITY
Also on Sunday, Colombia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had not violated Ecuador's sovereignty and had instead acted in what it called "legitimate self-defense."
The ministry said it would respond formally to Ecuador's diplomatic note of protest about the incident in a later joint statement with the Defense Ministry.
Colombia has stepped up security measures against possible FARC retaliation following the killing of Reyes, who had been viewed as a possible successor to 77-year-old head Manuel Marulanda.
Colombian Interior Minister Carlos Holguin said he doubted FARC had the capacity to revenge the death of Reyes, whose real name was Luis Edgar Devia Silva.
"I believe this is the end of the end," he told reporters.
CONCERN OVER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS
Reyes' death came just three days after FARC unilaterally released four former Colombian legislators it had held hostage for six years, in the second such move this year. On Jan. 10, the group released two other Colombians -- Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez.
FARC is seeking to reach a deal with the Colombian government on swapping some 40 high-value captives, including Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian citizen kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency, with 500 imprisoned FARC members, including some extradited to the United States.
FARC said in a statement that the killing of Reyes, who had been involved in hostage talks, should not affect its moves to free more captives, according to the Venezuelan government.
Reacting to Reyes' death, French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged all sides to take the "humanitarian considerations" into account and maintain the "positive dynamic" achieved by the recentho stage releases.
He also repeated his call for Betancourt's release.
Source:Xinhua
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