Posted on 03/31/2003 9:35:41 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS (AFP) - President Hugo Chavez said he had ordered what was Venezuela's first bombing raid against suspected Colombian irregular forces inside Venezuelan territory.
"A short while ago, I ordered an air force operation and we bombed an area where we detected the presence of a group" of Colombian irregular forces along the South American countries' shared border, Chavez said on his weekly radio program.
Chavez said the irregulars boldly attacked a Venezuelan military post, after which he ordered the raid on Thursday, and stressed that Caracas would not tolerate Colombian armed groups entering Venezuela.
Chavez did not identify the forces either as leftist rebels -- such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or National Liberation Army (ELN) -- or as right-wing paramilitaries active in Colombia.
Nor did Chavez say if there were dead or injured among the alleged Colombian irregulars.
But he maintained the strike was "effective ... and caused the group to double back toward Colombian territory."
"Neither paramilitaries nor rebels nor the armed forces of Colombia have authorization, nor will they have it, to be on Venezuelan territory," Chavez said, adding pointedly: "This territory will be respected."
Chavez said that to deter any actions by Colombian irregulars he will be sending in an elite army unit and bolstering air patrols along the 2,200-kilometer (1,367 mile) border with Colombia.
Late Sunday, Bogota's ambassador to Caracas, Carlos Rodolfo Santiago, denounced alleged moves by Venezuelan farmers in the border region to form paramilitary units to protect themselves from Colombian leftist guerrillas.
"Some farmers want to create their own groups for protection, and that is totally forbidden in Venezuela," the diplomat told Radio Caracol, alluding to complaints from Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel that Colombian paramilitaries were acting "with total impunity" on the frontier.
He said there might be connections between the proposed paramilitary groups and the right wing Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC) who are involved in a mortal struggle with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
The opposition in Caracas as well as Colombian media and politicians have repeatedly accused the leftist-populist Chavez government of tolerating and even aiding Colombian rebels inside Venezuela.
Chavez has denied the charges, attributing them to an international conspiracy against his government.
July 2001 - Venezuelans Protest Kidnappings (Chavez suspends gun licenses--threats to jail militiamen)*** 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.***
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.