by the El Reportero’s news services
In response to Colombian accusations of “continued and permanent tolerance” of Colombian guerrillas on Venezuelan soil, on July 22 Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez, accompanied by none other than Diego Maradona, followed through on his earlier threat and broke off all relations with Colombia, ordered the Colombian embassy in Caracas closed and gave the embassy staff 72 hours to leave the country.
This is the first time since coming to power in 1999 that Chávez has completely broken off his long tempestuous relations with neighbouring Colombia. The timing is exceedingly bad for the incoming president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, prompting much speculation in recent days about the motives, political or otherwise, of the outgoing president, Alvaro Uribe. At the end of the day that’s rather immaterial. Uribe was already isolated within the region and will leave office in rather ungainly fashion.
Uribe accused of sabotaging Santos’ rapprochement with Venezuela
Colombia’s defense minister, Gabriel Silva, showed the media behind closed doors on 15 July what he claimed was incontrovertible evidence that senior leaders of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) were hiding in Venezuela. As we go to press a week later, his government is poised to present this evidence to the Organization of American States (OAS). In the meantime, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez has threatened to sever ties with Colombia completely and ruled out attending the investiture of Presidentelect Juan Manuel Santos on 7 August. It is far from the first time the administration of President Alvaro Uribe has claimed the Farc and ELN seek sanctuary in Venezuela, so the timing of these latest revelations is more interesting than their contents.
Indigenous frustration with Morales laid bare
This month saw one of the biggest challenges to Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, Latin America’s first indigenous leader, from the country’s indigenous sector (which accounts for roughly two thirds of the population). While triggered by the approval of the five ‘leyes orgánicas’ framework laws necessary for the implementation of the new 2009 “plurinational” constitution to take effect, the show of frustration from what is one of the core planks of Morales’s support base, exposed more generally how, despite the considerable progress achieved by his administration vis-à-vis indigenous rights, certain expectations have yet to be fulfilled.
Russian-Argentinean relations have reached new level
The topic was developed further in Buenos Aires where the President of Russia arrived next day. Answering the question whether the US will be con cerned with Russia moving to Latin America that was always considered “American back yard,” Medvedev said: ”I have an impression that people in the White House are sensible. Thus I hope that it is no one’s concern. And if it is a concern, we do not care.”
Agreements were reached with Argentina regarding construction of railway road, use of Glonass satellite system, supply of military equipment and construction of a nuclear power station. The nuclear power station project is worth several billion dollars. To promote such projects, especially to not very wealthy countries, these countries have to be provided with billions worth of loans. The orders for a part of equipment have to be placed locally. “Half of the components will be from local manufacturers,” Kirchner, Argentina’s President, confirmed. Medvedev completed his visit to the American continent in Brazil where the second summit of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) took place.
