The Colombian government’s announcement that it has seized ‘foreign weapons’ from FARC guerrilla fighters has met with an unusually fierce response. This has led to growing animosity between the two countries and has increased the ideological polarisation throughout Latin America.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has frozen ties with neighbouring Columbia and threatened to expropriate Colombian businesses. He has also ordered the immediate recall of his ambassador to Bogotá. It is a rather heavy-handed reaction to an announcement by the Colombian government that it had confiscated weapons from the left-wing guerrilla movement FARC which Venezuela had purchased from Sweden in the 1980s.

Financial support
The freezing of relations is tied to a dispute between the two countries last year, when Colombia announced that it had found information on the computer of the assassinated FARC leader Raúl Reyes which allegedly demonstrated that the Venezuelan authorities were supporting the guerrilla organisation financially. President Hugo Chávez did his best to solve the dispute. He called on the FARC to lay down its arms and attempted to restore ties with some of the other countries in the region.                                                                                                                              

Commotion
The reaction this time is of a very different nature: Venezuela is expressing indignation and outrage. Although Caracas has not denied the arms shipments, President Chávez has nonetheless accused Bogotá of attempting to discredit his government and of being at the beck and call of the “American empire”. Venezuela also refused to respond to a Swedish request for information. Caracas said it would do so when the time was ripe. The Swedish government, which had sold the arms in question, demanded an explanation.

Polarisation
It seems as if Chávez is intentionally attempting to create divisions between his country and Colombia and encourage an ideological rift between the Latin American nations. The United States and some other countries in the region consider Chávez’s actions a provocation.

The Venezuelan government does not openly support FARC, though it is possible that soldiers or army officers sell weapons to the guerrilla movement, which has controlled parts of Colombia for decades. There is also a good deal of cocaine smuggling across the border. In addition, the border area is full of members of FARC, the Colombian army and the Venezuelan secret service.

It is no secret that there are contacts between FARC commanders and Venezuelan military officers and agents of the secret service. This does not necessarily mean that the government in Caracas is involved in some kind of dubious plan. Nor is there any proof that President Chávez has given his permission to provide the FARC with material support.

Alive and kicking
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe is extremely concerned about the lack of progress in the fight against the FARC. Last year he was convinced that the guerrilla movement was on its last legs. Now it seems that the movement is alive and kicking, especially in remote areas, and that it plays a major role in the drug trade.

Uribe is atttempting to change the constitution in order to be re-elected. He is attempting to improve his image in the international community and to convince the US that he is attempting to “save” a region where left-wing populist leaders are gaining the upper hand.

Nationalism
Since Colombia and Venezuela have large mutual interests it is unlikely that the freeze in relations will last for long. However, there are still fears that an incident in the border region could again lead to an increase in tensions and diplomatic quarrelling, which could inflame nationalist feelings in the armed forces. A small conflict could have great repercussions.

Photos: Wikipedia Commons