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Editorial Commentary
VenEconomy: A violent truth
This weekend, Chávez administration’s close relations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ceased to be an open secret and became a violent truth.
Never before had the ties between Hugo Chávez and his government and the FARC been clearer than now as result of the death of Raúl Reyes and 17 more guerrillas in Ecuadorian territory at the hands of a commando group of the Colombian army.
The Venezuelan President’s sympathies for any insurgent group -but in particular for the FARC- have been made apparent on numerous occasions.
One such was the firm sentence ordered against Commander Humberto Quintero Aguilar as a punishment for having arrested, in the performance of his duty, the guerrilla Rodrigo Granda, better known as the FARC’s Foreign Minister.
More recently, during the process leading to the release of the hostages held by the FARC, there was the public message of solidarity and friendship that Venezuela’s Minister of the Interior and Justice took to the guerrillas who handed over Deputies Clara Rojas and Consuelo González in January this year: “Keep up your spirits, keep up that strength! You can count on us!” was the promise Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín gave the guerrillas that day.
Even more serious was Chávez’ request that the FARC and the ELN be given international belligerent status, as though they were true armies that have “a political, Bolivarian project that is respected here.”
Further proof of the Chávez administration’s close relations with the FARC was the indifference with which Chávez received from Álvaro Uribe evidence of the existence of guerrilla camps in Venezuelan territory, including maps and coordinates indicating their location.
Now, Chávez, with his decisions to mobilize 10 battalions and tanks to the frontier with Colombia and close the Embassy in Bogotá, has pushed his nose into a bi-national conflict between Colombia and Ecuador, which, at first glance, was none of Venezuela’s business.
It is true that action by the Colombian army destroyed a guerrilla camp in Ecuadorian territory, for which the Colombian Government must give the Ecuadorian Government an explanation.
But President Rafael Correa also has some explaining to do. The fact that he permitted the camp in Ecuador points to his government’s sympathy with the FARC and its interference in an internal conflict of a sovereign nation.
According to the latest reports, the affair seems to be getting even more complicated. During the military operation, the Colombian Government found documents that would seem to involve the Correa and Chávez administrations more directly with the FARC.
If these reports are corroborated, the true reasons for the unilateral, emotional and irrational reaction by Hugo Chávez would be revealed and would put sister nations in a situation where there a risk of war of incalculable proportions
VenEconomy is a Venezuela's leading specialized publisher in the economic and financial area. VenEconomy's Points of View on the issues of the day, as seen by VenEconomy during the last week. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
Editor's Note: This commentary was originally published by VenEconomy, on 03/04/2007. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers.
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Petroleumworld News 03/04/08
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