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Are Colombia, Ecuador & Venezuela Ready to Get Their War On?

12:42 H | Topics: Colombia - Ecuador - Politics - US Presidential Race 2008 - Venezuela

The media is all over the story that Ecuador and Venezuela are ready to declare war on Colombia. Ecuador and Venezuela have cut diplomatic ties with Colombia and sent troops to their respective borders with the nation run by Alvaro Uribe. Alvaro Uribe can indeed be seen as the cause of the war talk thanks to him allowing (some say officially ordering) his troops into Ecuadorian land to capture and kill FARC leader Raúl Reyes. In the raid laptops were captured, starting a war of documents on laptops as well. Colombia says that documents recovered reveal Hugo Chavez's support of the FARC in terms of money. Venezuela later displayed the laptop of a slain drug trafficker, which it said contained information implicating Colombia's national police chief in the cocaine trade.

And where does the U.S.fall into all of this. Not surprisingly the U.S. has officially sided with Colombia, with the State Department saying that it supports Colombia's efforts to defend itself against the FARC.

Hillary Clinton, who today is facing decisive primaries in Texas and Ohio, made her foreign policy position in Latin America strikingly clear:

"Hugo Chávez's order on Sunday to send 10 battalions to the border with Colombia is unjustified and dangerous," said Clinton in a press communiqué."Hugo Chávez must stop these provoking actions," added Clinton. Clinton said that Colombian President Álvaro Uribe's government has "every right" to defend Colombia from "terrorist, drug trafficking organizations that have kidnapped innocent citizen, including US nationals."

Chile, Mexico, and Brasil have offered to mediate with Chilean President Bachelet saying that Colombia owed Ecuador, South America, and the rest of the world an explanation.

Via / Economist.com, Yahoo!, El Universal

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