[News] Chavez: “Colombia is the Israel of Latin America .”

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Chavez: “Colombia is the Israel of Latin America.”

March 3rd 2008, by Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com


Monday, March 03, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) - 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez labeled Colombia 
the "Israel of Latin America" on his Sunday talk 
show Aló Presidente yesterday. Responding to 
events on Saturday in which the Colombian 
military made an illegal attack across the border 
in Ecuadorian territory, the Venezuelan leader 
called Colombia a "terrorist state," and gave 
orders to mobilize troops on the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

"The Colombian government has turned into the 
Israel of Latin America," said Chavez during his show on Sunday.

"Colombia is a terrorist state that is subject to 
the great terrorist, the government of the United 
States and their apparatus," he explained.

The Venezuelan president spoke in response to an 
attack and killing on the part of the Colombian 
military of several FARC guerrillas, including 
top leader Raul Reyes, on Saturday morning. 
Chavez called the killing a "cowardly murder" and 
condemned the attack for having illegally crossed 
the Colombian border into Ecuador.

"They bombed from the north and the south of the 
border," he said. "In other words, they attacked inside Ecuadorian territory."

President Chavez spoke on the telephone with 
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa about the 
attack and the violation of Ecuador's 
sovereignty. According to Correa, who ordered an 
investigation of the events, the Colombian 
military attacked the guerrillas using precision 
bombs while they were sleeping inside Ecuadorian 
territory, killing at least 15 men and women, and 
leaving two female guerrillas injured. The 
Ecuadorian military said the bodies were still in 
their pajamas when they found them.

"This was not a battle. It was a cowardly 
murder," said Chavez. "This was all coldly 
calculated, and the truth is starting to come out."

Chavez offered any necessary support to his 
Ecuadorian counterpart and informed his audience 
that the government of Ecuador would be 
withdrawing their ambassador from Bogota, and 
mobilizing troops to the Colombian border. Chavez 
gave orders during the show for his government to do the same.

"Move ten battalions to the border with Colombian 
immediately," he said to his defense minister. 
"We don't want war, but we are not going to allow 
the North American empire, which is their master, 
and their puppy-dog President Uribe and the 
Colombian oligarchy to come divide us, to weaken 
us. We are not going to allow it."

The Venezuelan president then gave orders to his 
foreign minister to close the Venezuelan embassy 
in Bogota and withdraw all the officials that 
work there, bringing relations between the 
countries to their lowest point in recent history.

Chavez sharply criticized Colombian President 
Alvaro Uribe, accusing him of leading a 
"criminal" government, and warned the Colombian 
leader that any kind of incursion into Venezuelan 
territory on the part of the Colombian military 
would be a cause for war between the two countries.

"This is very serious. If this were to happen in 
Venezuela it would be a cause for war," said 
Chavez. "Don't even think about it or I'll launch an air attack."

Chavez compared the actions of the Colombian 
government to those of Israel in the Middle East 
who he accused of "invading," "bombing," and 
"killing" the Palestinian people with the 
intention of "preventing the union of the Arabic world."

"It is the fist of the empire," he said. "And 
we're not going to let them plant another Israel here in Latin America."

Washington, who supports the Colombian war 
against the FARC and provides the Colombian 
government with more military aid than any other 
country outside the Middle East, said it was monitoring events in the region.

Crime Prevention

Earlier in the show, President Chavez spoke with 
police and security forces in Caracas about how 
to reduce the level of crime in the country. 
Although he reported that crime has fallen 
significantly in the last year, Chavez discussed 
plans to better coordinate forces in the fight 
against crime, and to focus on prevention.

He also announced a raise in the salaries for 
public officials like police officers, 
firefighters, and other security forces.

Chavez ended the show with the approval of more 
than Bs.F. 123 million (US$ 57 million) to 
finance public works to improve roads and public 
spaces around the city of Caracas.
Source URL: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/
Printed: March 3rd 2008
License: Published under a Creative Commons 
license (by-nc-nd). See creativecommons.org for more information.




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