Jan 16, 2005
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press Writer
Newsday
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia has accused Venezuela of sheltering a Colombian rebel leader on its territory and said other Colombian terrorists and rebel camps are in the neighboring country.
The dispute between the South American countries, which has already resulted in Venezuela suspending its commercial relations with Colombia, stems from last month's capture of Rodrigo Granda, a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in Caracas by purported bounty hunters.
The case has brought long-simmering tensions between Colombia and Venezuela over the alleged presence of Colombian rebels in Venezuela to a boil.
Late Sunday, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe issued a statement leveling the government's most serious and explicit charges against its neighbor.
"Colombia will deliver proof to the government of Venezuela about the protection that authorities of this country provided to Mr. Granda. The sheltering of terrorists violates the sovereignty of Colombia," the statement said.
Uribe's office said Colombia would provide Venezuela with the names of seven terrorist ringleaders hiding in that country and the location of various camps, but it did not specify when.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has denied accusations he tolerates the presence of Marxist FARC rebels in Venezuela and says the 1,400-mile shared border, much of it covered in thick jungle, is too long to properly patrol.
On Sunday, Chavez responded to a Colombian statement that Uribe was willing to hold talks at a summit with other presidents. Chavez said the issue was strictly "bilateral" and should stay between the two of them. He invited Uribe to his home state of Barinas.
Chavez also said he expected an admission from Uribe that a "crime" was committed in Granda's capture.
Colombian officials first said Granda was captured in Colombia but later acknowledged having paid unidentified bounty hunters to capture him in Venezuela and deliver him to police in Colombia.
Venezuela accused Colombia of bribing local Venezuelan officials for Granda's capture. It recalled its ambassador to Bogota and suspended relations over what it said was the kidnapping of Granda in Caracas and the violation of Venezuela's sovereignty.
The dispute has drawn in the United States, which backs Colombia's war against the FARC and a smaller rebel group and which has long had testy relations with Chavez, who accused Washington of being behind a short-lived 2002 coup to oust him.
U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Wood said Saturday that Washington stands 100 percent behind Colombia and that Chavez should clarify whether Colombian rebels are permitted in Venezuela.
Chavez, in a radio and TV address Sunday, said a "new anti-Venezuelan rage has started in Washington" and his critics were trying to project the image that "Venezuela has become a safe haven for terrorists."
The FARC has battled the Colombian government for 40 years. It kidnaps, traffics in drugs and commits extortion to finance its war. The United States has officially designated the FARC a terrorist organization.
The United States is delivering military aid to Colombia, and U.S. special forces have trained Colombian troops, to help the Andean nation battle the rebels.
Associated Press writer Alice M. Chacon in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
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