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Chavez freezes ties with Colombia

A new BBC article just out, not sure if you all have seen...
Mr Chavez appears to be turning the tables on President Uribe with world opinion getting himself in the middle of this...This is great that negotiations were moving forward, but really, is there possibly another hidden agenda for Colombia's neighbor? I personally have a feeling still that he is up to something and it may not be good. He could be even using the FARC to boost his long range goals, what is the thoughts out there again based on this article below and what was posted the other week;

Chavez says he has frozen his country's bilateral ties with neighboring Colombia.
The move follows the decision by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to end Mr Chavez's role as a hostage negotiator with Colombia's FARC rebels. The move followed a series of apparent diplomatic breaches. Mr Chavez accused Mr Uribe of "lying in a shameless way", and said that the decision to end his mediation role was "like a spit in the face".
"I declare before the world that I'm putting relations with Colombia in the freezer because I've completely lost confidence with everyone in the Colombian government," said Mr Chavez during a televised speech. "The companies that Colombians have over here, the companies we have over there - all of that will be damaged," he told his cabinet.

Attempts to free the hostages have been going on for several years, but the process appeared to take a step forward in August when Mr Chavez volunteered to act as a mediator between the right-wing Colombian government and the left-wing rebels.
Photos had appeared of Mr Chavez posing with a FARC commander. Then, earlier this week, Mr Chavez revealed that Mr Uribe had told him that he was prepared to meet FARC leader Manuel Marulanda. This further angered the Colombian president, who said the conversation had been confidential. Eventually, Mr Chavez was dropped after he defied a Colombian order not to be in direct contact with Colombia's army chief.

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has urged Mr Uribe to reconsider his decision to end Mr Chavez's role. President Sarkozy has taken a particular interst in the issue, because one of the hostages - Ingrid Betancourt - holds French citizenship.
Mr Sarkozy said he believed the Venezuelan leader was still the best person to broker an exchange. Relatives of FARC -held hostages expressed shock and grief at the end of Mr Chavez's participation as dozens gathered near the presidential palace in Bogota to protest on Thursday. "We thought it was very brave what President Chavez did in three months compared to what the government has failed to do in 10 years," Jose Uriel Perez, whose nephew was taken by FARC in 1998, told AP. "Nothing touches this government - not the deaths, nor our mourning, nor the pain the families of the kidnapped live with."

By lampltr on Nov 25, 2007, 16:49 in Politics & the war.

juancegomez says on Nov 25, 2007, 18:01:

Already posted in P&W earlier today.

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goin_south says on Nov 25, 2007, 18:04:

Ciao! Gustav.

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lampltr says on Nov 25, 2007, 18:04:

Ooops, thanks guess I overlooked it. Was thinking about, but did not know all posts in all catagories are interlinked....great system!!

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