Posted on 01/31/2002 12:32:10 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country's armed forces have met with Colombian guerrillas in "humanitarian missions" to free kidnap victims, but he denied opponents' claims he was collaborating with the leftist rebels.
Chavez, who spoke in Bolivia late on Wednesday, was commenting on a video released in Caracas by four opposition journalists that allegedly showed a Venezuelan military team negotiating with FARC guerrillas inside Colombia in July 2000.
Opponents of Chavez, a left-wing former paratrooper who attempted an abortive coup in 1992 before winning elections six years later, have frequently accused him of sympathizing with Colombia's Marxist rebels and even of cooperating with them.
Although Chavez has hotly denied any formal links, these alleged sympathies have on occasions strained relations between the two neighboring Andean nations. However, they have both made efforts recently to improve ties.
The Venezuelan president, who spoke after attending a summit of Andean leaders in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, said he had not seen the video released Wednesday by the four prominent media critics of his government.
But he added: "I wouldn't be surprised if Venezuelans turned up on some part of the frontier on a humanitarian mission to free kidnapped citizens".
In remarks published on Thursday in Caracas by the presidential press office, Chavez said it was "absolutely false that I have a pact with Colombian guerrillas or that I support them, or give them arms."
His government has openly supported Colombian president Andres Pastrana's efforts to end the 38-year-old war pitting leftist rebels against the army and right-wing paramilitaries which has killed 40,000 people in the last decade.
JOURNALISTS SAY VENEZUELAN MILITARY 'INDIGNANT'
The video released by the four Venezuelan journalists showed a Colombian FARC rebel commander, Ruben Zamora, receiving a delegation of soldiers and civilians who identified themselves as Venezuelan military intelligence officers.
In a meeting which Zamora said took place on July 6, 2000, they discussed the handover of a Venezuelan national accused of collaborating with right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia.
"If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised, and if we have to carry on doing it, for humanitarian reasons, then we will," Chavez said in Santa Cruz.
The four journalists who presented the video, Patricia Poleo, Ibeyise Pacheco, Marianella Salazar and Martha Colomina, said it showed the Chavez government was collaborating with the rebels behind the back of the Colombian government.
Colombian newspapers on Thursday prominently reported the presentation of the video and Colombia's ambassador to Caracas, German Bula, said his government was evaluating its contents.
The four journalists, who have fiercely criticized Chavez and have also denounced what they say is a government campaign to silence them, said they had received the video from disgruntled officers within the Venezuelan military.
Pacheco, who did not identify the source of the tape, said Venezuela's armed forces "want nothing to do with Colombian guerrillas."
She said the Venezuelan military was also "indignant and concerned" over the recent appointment of Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, a retired Naval intelligence officer with close ties to Chavez, as Interior and Justice Minister.
Chacin has acted in the past as a Venezuelan government intermediary in successful negotiations to release kidnap victims held in Colombia.
Chavez, without giving details, said Venezuela had been involved in the release of a U.S. citizen held in Colombia and had also been asked by Germany for similar assistance.
The Venezuelan leader has in the past accused the Colombian and Venezuelan media of trying to discredit him by suggesting he has links with Colombia's anti-government Marxist rebels.
Last year, the Venezuelan government's handling of a Colombian guerrilla accused of hijacking triggered a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
Senior Venezuelan officials originally denied the arrest in Venezuela of Jose Maria Ballestas, until Colombian police produced video evidence of the detention. Following an extradition request, Venezuela deported Ballestas back to Colombia in December to face hijacking charges.
Venezuelans Protest Kidnappings (Chavez suspends gun licenses--threats to jail militiamen)--[Excerpt] Ranchers living along the country's remote 1,400-mile border with Colombia face the constant threat of kidnapping and extortion by Colombia's leftist guerrillas who can cross the border. Common criminals and gangs often cooperate with rebels.
Earlier this year cattlemen proposed forming private militias to fend off local criminals and rebels from neighboring Colombia. The idea was abandoned as President Hugo Chavez suspended the issuance of new gun licenses and threatened to jail would-be militiamen. [End Excerpt]
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(January 31, 2002) -Andean region approved as free trade zone (Chavez rails against capitalism)--[Excerpt] Chavez, in particular, stood out as the lone leader ranting against capitalism, which he said only benefits a minority while leaving the rest behind.
``Is it with this economic model - which excludes peasants and the indigenous, and strips the young of their fundamental human rights to education, health, land, and life itself - that we are going to integrate our continent?'' asked Chavez. ``From Venezuela, we say no.'' Toledo asked the community to put social concerns ahead of economic ones, calling on them to focus on how to eradicate illiteracy, reduce infant mortality rates and finance the war against poverty.
Plans for the Andean region, however, are still vulnerable to waves created by other nations on the continent. It is feared that Chile's plans to purchase 10 F-16 combat planes, for example, could trigger an arms race in the region. And no one knows yet the extent the ongoing economic crisis in Argentina will have on the nations to the north.
The summit comes at a time when each of the Andean nations is dealing with some level of political instability, ranging from Colombia's fragile peace talks with guerrillas to Chavez's drastic drop in popularity. [End Excerpt]
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AN OPPOSITION AROUSED: Venezuela's Chavez Draws Protests--[Excerpt] For many Venezuelans, the cure for the nation's old, corrupt political system has proved worse than the original disease. Though they democratically elected President Hugo Chávez by a landslide three years ago, tens of thousands now protest against him. While he has destroyed much of the old and amassed great presidential powers while doing so, the results are not encouraging. [End Excerpt]
Venezuela's Chavez Steps up Verbal Attacks On Church-- Calls It a "Tumor" for the Country´s "Revolution" ----CARACAS, Venezuela, (Zenit.org).- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez assailed the country´s Catholic bishops, accusing them of not "walking in the way of God" because they do not openly support the political leader´s "revolution."
Venezuela Paper Calls Chavez Dictator-- ``What a poor and tragic destiny awaits us if we don't stop this apprentice dictator in time,'' the newspaper said.
Venezuela's Chavez Names Coup Plotter as VP-- Since taking office three years ago, Chavez has alarmed many analysts by naming a number of active and retired military officials to senior government posts, including the current foreign minister and the head of state oil company PDVSA. He has also reportedly irked many in the armed forces by raising his fellow conspirators in the botched 1992 uprising to influential positions in the military.[End Excerpt]
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