SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuela said it beefed up its troop presence along the border with Colombia as its neighbor’s incoming finance minister vowed yesterday to restore trade between the feuding Andean nations.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia last week, bringing the countries’ troubled relations to a new low after Bogota alleged that his government allowed leftist Colombian rebels to operate bases there.
Chavez, a leftist former soldier whose popularity has been slipping ahead of legislative elections next month, called the charges a “hoax” and an excuse for Colombia to launch a US-backed invasion he says would start a “100-year war.”
The United States yesterday said it had no intention of taking military action against Venezuela. Venezuela met United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to explain its position.
About 1,000 National Guard soldiers arrived in the border region over the weekend and were reinforcing posts along the 1,375-mile (2,200-km) long frontier, said Franklin Marquez, a regional commander for the National Guard.
“We have a reinforcement of 980 to 1,000 troops for the protection of the border, but there are no unusual operations; we are staying on alert,” Marquez said.
The border region has remained calm and most analysts believe a military clash is unlikely between the nations, which have often squabbled over border security and guerrillas. But border skirmishes are possible in a volatile region plagued by clashing ideologies and drug trafficking.
The United States urged Chavez, an outspoken standard-bearer for socialism and anti-US sentiment in Latin America, to address Colombia’s charges that 1,500 Colombian rebels are camped out in Venezuela.
“We have no intention of engaging a military action against Venezuela,” US State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley told reporters yesterday. “Rather than posturing, it would be much more constructive for Venezuela to engage directly, answer these questions.”
Chavez responded on Sunday by threatening to cut off Venezuela’s oil supplies to the United States if Colombia attacks. But analysts say that would be a devastating blow for Venezuela’s economy, which is already shrinking and suffering from 30 per cent annual inflation.
Bilateral trade with Colombia, once at $7 billion annually, has plummeted since Chavez ordered a freeze on trade last year to protest a deal allowing US forces to use Colombian bases.
Jose Rozo, the president of a business group in the border state of Tachira, said cross-border trade in several frontier towns had plunged by about 60 per cent in the past three days.
“A rise in troops levels on the border isn’t justified; it is only hurting the residents here,” said Cesar Perez Vivas, the opposition governor of Tachira. “We have reports that 20,000 jobs have been lost because of this breaking of ties with Colombia.”
Outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe triggered the latest spat with his long-time leftist foe Chavez when he accused him of allowing outlawed Colombian guerrillas to operate bases inside Venezuelan territory. Colombia presented photos, videos and maps to the Organization of American States to back its charges.
