Venezuela accuses Colombia of “warmongering insanity” (twice!)

Venezuela really let loose on Colombia in this doozy of a press release today:

The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its indignation with the irresponsibility of the government of the Republic of Colombia, as it has annihilated efforts made to construct a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship, clearly putting the peace and stability of the region in peril.
 
 The accusation leveled at the Venezuelan government regarding a cache of weapons supposedly seized from the FARC, and the Colombia government’s statement issued on July 29, 2009, illustrate the hypocrisy with which the Colombian authorities conduct themselves as they endeavor to justify their internal warmongering insanity, which they insist on imposing upon other nations as the only regional policy.
 
 The Colombian government, shirking its own responsibilities, wishes to justify the installation of up to five military bases in its territory with the world’s major military power, alleging that three rocket launchers, supposedly the property of the Venezuelan military, somehow arrived in the hands of an irregular group. As is the custom, the Colombian government does not explain how thousands of arms circulate through the hands of irregular groups within its borders, yet it cynically demands that Venezuela explain the origin of three of them. Why not demand that the United States or Israel explain how thousands of arms manufactured in their countries are now in the hands of guerrillas inside Colombia? According to the script, well played out by the Colombia elite, sixty years of internal warfare are not the responsibility of Colombia but of its neighbors, with a particular preference for those that today govern from the left.
 
 If the Colombian oligarchy, faced with their historic failure to construct a viable nation, have made the dishonorable decision to surrender their country freely to the United States, they should assume responsibility clearly before the Colombian people rather than shielding themselves behind absurd pretexts. The Colombia of today -occupied militarily and ruled by a bellicose elite- represents a latent threat to the entire region.
 
 The government of Venezuela confirms its rejection of this vulgar campaign and at the same time warns that any act of aggression by the Colombian government will be met with firm measures. The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its call to the people of Colombia and the governments and peoples of the region, that together we can halt this aggressive policy that attempts to turn all of South America into a war zone. The time has come to stop the warmongering insanity of the elite that currently govern Colombia.

In his last “This Week at War Column,” Robert Haddick explained how the United States’s latest basing negotiations with Colombia were actually set in motion after Chavez’s ally Rafael Correa decided not to renew the U.S. military’s lease to use an Ecuadorean airbase. Correa’s decision seems to have backfired spectacularly, resulting the U.S. gaining a much more significant military presence in the region and strengthening arch-enemy Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. No wonder the Bolivarians are in a bad mood.

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