Sometimes we all just shout and not think.. One cannot just shove ones principles and value onto someone else.. trying to force someone will make them fight back.... This is what the United State Of America doesn't understand.
Trying to force its kind of democracy on others is just wrong. And all of this is just a backlash of this action.. Who died and made them god?? Huh.. Chavez, Saddam, Fidal Castro and many more are the results......

Tsung, Mainland, Asian Hegemony

I have read most of the Comments and I am glad most back Colombia.It is very scary to think more and more Latin American nations are backing Chavez. Colombia may as well be an Israel in a region were its neighbors are set to destroy a growing democracy. We are all affected by this one way or another. That dropout in your corner selling dope got it from Colombia.The world's interest is at stake here. War is not the answer, let's learn from the middle east.Latin Americans want a democracy, but democracy has failed them. That is why many of them are turning the other way.If we the U.S.A want a stable America (North,Central,South) We must somehow find a solution to work together with these countries so they can get out of the devasting poverty that hinders so many in the Americas. If we do this, we are then taking steps to stop narcotrafickers,bring down leftist guerillas, and bring stability to our region,reason being most these people get involved in these trades cause they are very poor

George, Lowell, Ma,USA

What everyone seems to forget is that all's fair in LOVE & WAR.

"Until the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, the world will not know peace."

To all my violent friends...."Hasta la Victoria Siempre!"

J Rodriguez, Amityville, NY, Divided States of America

Chavez is just trying to drum up support in Venezuela because it is dimishing. His people will continue to starve if he keeps the door shut on Colombia. You can't believe anything Chavez or Correa say, because anyone who is a friend of the FARC is totally uncredible. The FARC has attacked my family's company repeatedly and drove us from our home in Neiva, Huila, Colombia back into the USA, so I'd give just about anything to see the FARC destroyed. Uribe is a good man and anyone who supports Chavez' foolishness is also a fool himself. Hopefully Chavez doesn't do too much damage to either wonderful country before he misguides himself out of power like I know he will. !Viva Colombia!

Zack, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

chavez only wants power
hes being arming venezula since he became president

tony, miami, florida

Noriega's cell is now empty, Chavez may be a good candidate to sit there for the next 15 years.

Sam, Los Angeles,

To whoever considers Venezuela has the right to defend it's territory, please check the news again: the Colombian army attacked the guerrilla campament on Ecuador's side of the border. While this is reprehensible, it has nothing to do with attacking Ecuador, much less has anything to do at all with Venezuela.

Also, this has nothing to do with a pre-emptive attack as someone suggests. If these criminals have been attacking Colombian towns and infrastructure for 40+ years, should we wait for them to kill some more before engaging them? And please keep in mind: FARC are not supported by anyone but a few (maybe 1%) of the population... and they have bought that support using the drug trade and kidnappings.

Javier, Illinois,

Chavez perhaps using that old distraction of a foreign war to stop criticism at home now that enough time has passed to see that his much vaunted programmes are mostly hot air ?

Stan(expat), USA,

I've read all the comments and the many issues / concerns that have been stated, by all concerned.I could write quite a lot about them, but feel it would be meaningless, since world politics, ruthless leaderships, oppression, hunger & death,...are now, and will continue to be the GREATEST enemies AND stumbling blocks of the people on earth. Instead of seeking wisdom, knowledge, peace and understanding, war, hatred, & corruption, .... is preferred. Principles, morales, and goodness are slowly being forgotten. Evil is increasing, and complecency appears to be the acceptable choice, rather than making greater effort to bring about improvement in ALL aspects of Life, for the benefit of all people on Earth. IF we don't DO something about these greatly needed changes, I honestly feel that we're all headed for a one- way destination of self - destruct!!

R.M. Gomez Sr. , grand prairie, U.S.A. / Texas

Obviously, some are very misinformed about us here in the USA. It seems that it is believed we are all war mongers. We are not. We show our disdain with a political leader by voting for someone other than who we disagree with. I didn't not vote for our current president personally. I will however stand behind him if he is showing the needed muscle to keep the country from getting over run. At least his concern is turned to the pertinant issues so we aren't being over run by sharia law and having the government wasting time on whether their should be warning labels on cheese.

Nikki, Medford, Oregon

Ari, Your comment sounds hypocritical coming from a country which would find it hard to exist without the interest of others. Imagine if the tensions between your country and Arab states had never been given attention by the US and other close Israeli allies... You would probably be living in Brooklyn, NY. J.

Andrew, Bogota,

Who gives power to such men? The People. Who takes power away from such men? The People. Venezuela is a beautiful country filled with a strong and equally beautiful people, but when history begins to rear its head in reminder to the past who teaches its harshest of lessons: The People. It's not too late for Mr. Chavez to go back to school.

Rick, Del Rio, Texas USA

"I am simply astounded that anyone perceives this as an "excuse for the US to intervene in Latin America
Who the hell said anything about the US intervening in Latin America?
And honestly, "Barack Obama a true leader will give Chavez a good talking too and teach him a lesson.", has there been a more naive statement ever written?
Barack wouldn't know what the hell to do with this situatio

Kevin, Riverview, FL

At this point, Hugo Chavez ... can go in two principal ways: (1) one push and push to the precipice but not fall over (like a Stalin, Qaddaffi or Kim Jongil) to gain maximum benefit for every concession the world or his neighbors make .... or (2) he can choose to continue to be the delusional buffoon that he is and go down the meglomaniacal path to the destruction just like his predecessors Idi Amin (Uganda), "Emperor" Bokassa (Centrafrique), Prince Johnson (Liberia), Slobodan Milosevic (Yugoslavia) or Saddam Hussein. Everyone of them started some sort of regional war to "further" their interests only to have them terribly backfire.

it's a great shame that the international community is just watching this madman run that same tragic course in Venezuela/Colombia whose dire and catastrophic consequences for the people of that region are all too clear.

Richard, San Francisco, CA, United States

Big talk....but will Chavez actually do anything besides mouth off. I can't believe that this will end as anything more than an unpleasant squabble with a few dead.

Its doubtful whether the Venezuelan Armed Forces are in any condition to fight for an extended period and one has to wonder at its capacities given the extent to which it has dabbled in internal politics. Armies that see themselves as principally a political force tend to ignore preparation for a more conventional role.

Hugo's popularity is on the wane and a nice little war will do wonders. He won't want a major conflict - that will be far too expensive, will generate too many political divisions and will weaken his power base. What he needs is a bit of strutting, a bit of shooting (nothing too serious) and a victory parade.

Mark, Berkhamsted,

I'd remind Andrew from NY that 7 hostages have been released so far - out of 3,000 imprisoned by the FARC. That's a pyrrhic victory, as far as I'm concerned, especially as the FARC has stated there will be no more releases.
Chavez ' sabre-rattling tactics are designed as a smokescreen, to drum up popularity for his sycophantic, corrupt government, for the shortages of basic foodstuffs (rice, flour, milk, sugar, beans, oil, etc.) and to win a few votes for the upcoming local elections.
It won't work though - the Venezuelan people are sick of his ranting, sick of his giving money away to other countries (AND to the FARC terrorists), sick of his communist designs and sick of his antagoniwm towards anyone who dares to disagree with him.
An armed conflict with Colombia would only worsen the situation, since 30% of all foodstuffs in Venezuela comes from the sister republic.

CB, Caracas, Venezuela

Chavez 'NEEDS' a war !! Things are not going well for his "Socialism of the XXI Century", since most of the income from oil is either squandered or pilfered by his own clique. People have to queue for hours to buy basic essentials, inflation is rampant & the much heralded 'Free medical service' almost collapsed. His is a cleptocracy wearing red clownish disguises, nothing else has changed, just the color! Venezuela is a delightful, beautiful country with great people on the whole, but it is highly inefficient & thoroughly corrupt. Chavez & his gang are bleeding the country dry & only a War might save him from a quick departure. However, a stupid & ridiculous War provoked by Chavez may well do nothing but hasten his retirement. Where? Well Cuba doesn't want him emty-handed, so he may end up in N.Korea. He has many people's blessings to go there.
The question is - will Venezuela change after Chavez? One can only hope....but pilfering the national treasure is regrettably endemic!!

Lover of 'the other Venezuela'!, Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Barack Obama a true leader will give Chavez a good talking too and teach him a lesson. Chavez is acting like a silly child. George Bush has no leaverag e as no one respects him.

Jose Sempa, Sao Paulo, Brazil

What is Chavez's body count?

tim, london,

Well it's in the millions as he is helping a terrorist groups that have killed millions and driven yet more millions of their lands! Yes a terrorist group that have (in the past) filled a horse with explosives, put 2 children on it, the children have been told to take it to an army check point and they then detonated it... with children still on the horse! That is the terrorist group that Venezuela and Ecuador are protecting. Colombia had every right to enter Ecuador as the Ecuadorian army were doing nothing to help. The Venezuelan army mobilised to protect Chavez's friends who are inside the Venezuelan border... Chavez is a menace and supports and protects a terrorist group and known drug smugglers. Says it all really.

Graeme, Colombia,

I am simply astounded that anyone perceives this as an "excuse for the US to intervene in Latin America." It is reflexive anti-Americanism of the worst sort.

Listen up: Chavez is a want-to-be dictator. FARC has been killing and holding people hostage for years, an avowed Marxist organization dedicated to the abolition of democracy. Maybe not coincidentally, Chavez attempted to eliminate democracy in Venezuela last year and is still looking for an excuse to impose martial law. Has everyone forgotten this? FARC is Chavez's excuse!

This sort of thing is too subtle for Bush in the first place and he would be too scared to interrupt the flow of Venezuelan oil to risk it even if he could get his mind around such a plot.

Brett, Boston, USA

Obviously Tomas you know nothing about the US or the people here. You make it sound as if we are all war mongers. Some of us do not agree with everything our President does and we try to show it by not voting for who we don't agree with but we do support him when whomever is in office. Of course, believing like you do is also why your country is about to succumb Sharia law and Britian is being over taken by the true war mongers. I'd rather stand behind someone I didn't vote for that is going to protect my freedom than have my rights taken away. Of course, the British government is too busy with other pressing issues like the consideration of putting warning labels on cheese to fight obesity than deal with the fact that the country is being over taken.

American Girl, Southern , Oregon

You guys have no idea what you're talking about. Always making up conspiracy theories to excuse your positions against the US.
Colombia ha been suffering way too long this conflict, it has paid with many lives. There is no excuse for kidnappings, no excuse for drug trafficking and killings of innocent people. Claiming that you're acting in favor of the poor is kind of stupid when you consider that most of the people that suffer from your activities are in fact poor people. Colombia is a democracy and as such, there are means to get your positions across other than taking arms against the state. Uribe was elected by the people of Colombia, millions of them just as millions of them marched on Feb 4 to say to the world "No more FARC, they are not the army of the people as they claim to be" .. were you even listening? Or are you going to tell me that there are millions of "upper-middle privileged" as you call it people in Colombia.. or maybe they were coarsed by the millions to vote 4 him.

Colombian, Cinci, USA,

This boils down to one white powdery problem, and an insatiable demad for it. As the stuff washes up on the shores of my homeland and is greedily guzzled by all and sundry weekend after weekend we still neglect our responsibility to and complicity in this crisis. My generation of good people, are promoting the latest fabrication of this "war on terror" by their own ignorance and blinkered attitude towards the way the world works, we are all guily ostriches and will only see the fruits of our refusal to see what is happening in front of our eyes when it is reflected in death, war and money fuelling the greed of America.
The FARC are not an angelic organisation, nor Chavez a fautless statesman or diplomat, however, legalise coke, rid it of its artificailly high price, stop the US flooding an already corrupt country with unwarranted money and guns and we will be on our way to promoting a true democracy in Colombia. Then, and only then would Chavez have nothing to shout about.

Henry Adams, Swansea, Wales

Does anyone consider the timing of this event? Bush holds the leash of his watchdogs in Colombia...this helps John McCain, who will tell the people of Texas that we cannot remain neutral...blah; blah; blah...

This also serves as an excuse for US to pull back from a failed venture in the Gulf Region, in favor of a war with Chavez; I thought that we would be in Colombia in 2001; it appears that most of the conflict overseas was to allow our lapdogs to arm themselves in South America...on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2nd, 1936, for the RE Public of Tejas!! BTW, don't forget the USS Maine...

vinbeazel, Tehachapi, CA/US

President Chavez needs to have a lot of confidence in his air force. His country's oil installations make excellent targets and the US will not stand aloof if he does invade Colombia.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

Here we go again, a good excuse for the US to intervene in Latin America once more. The formula has worked for decades: look for allies within the upper-middle privileged sector of Latin American countries (ie. Uribe) and use them to impose your will. The same people that have ruled Latin America since independence will carry on doing so, ruthlessly exploiting most of the population. Chavez is a pain but he didn't appear out of thin air, he's the result of decades of neglect of the poor by the traditional Venezuelan establishment, the very same hypocrites that then run around to Uncle Sam for help to get back into power. And Uncle Sam? Delighted to oblige as long as the oil is cheap. As for the drugs, who believes that defeating the FARC in Colombia will end the trade? Most of the cocaine disappears up the noses of Americans and while the demand for it exists, so will the supply. Haven't noticed a reduction of the poppy fields in Aghanistan, under US control for 6 years, have you?

Tomas, London, UK

Chavez has shown his cards and his sad support of the FARC organization.

Correa has also exposed his lack of helping to secure the region by the lack of presence of Ecuadorian military on the border and to further pressure the FARC rebels into Colombian territory, if his troops were on the border perhaps Reyes would have been killed within the Colombian border.

Uribe has demonstrated the results of his national security campaign and knocked down a member of the FARC secretariat who has always had a price on his head and is known to be nothing but a criminal and leader of a drug-trafficking business known as FARC.

Peace in Colombia, freedom to the FARC kidnap victims, hopefully international support will recognize Colombian sovereignty as citizens against FARC terrorism and the aggressive stance Venezuela has taken against the Colombian people.

Nick , London,

Phil, Albany,
Fascism is more rooted in Nationalism and the conservatism of a nation: trade protection etc than it is in Socialism. Also when did the Chinese stay out of the Korean war: what about all of those "volunteers" that swarmed all over the UN forces, plus the mIgs flying from Chinese airbases by Chinese pilots?

John, London, Uk

Why is this issue of concern to any government except those of the 2 nations involved?

And to all the hopelessly misguided contributors to this debate, please read the comment by "C WHELAN, WASHINGTON, USA."

ari, tel aviv, israel

Chavez cant hold on to his totalaran regieme. There is a little thing called democracy, and the peope spoke. No Chavez cant rule until he is 96 years old, and its obvious by a free vote, they dont want him in power.

Who ever says the US wants to take the resources of South America is crazy. What, is America going to drink the oil in Souh America? NO, THEY WILL BUY IT!!! And then take a look at where all that money goes? No ones fault but S. American countries governments!! Its all too easy to blame the US for their problems, as we can all see with Chavez. Does his billions of dollars from the US in oil money go to the Venezuelan people? (refer back to the vote)

There will be war in S. America, you wait. Chavez and Iran made their alliance, now Iran is pumping money into Venezuela and putting mosques on every corner. If they are not there yet, they soon will be. And soon those mosques will be preaching the anti-zionist, anti-US, anti-Isreal hate speeches, breeding hate.

Saleem, Omaha, Iowa

Chavez is seeking a way to get an oil pipeline to the Pacific coast and Asia so that he doesnt depend on the empire up North...of course he is also seeking a distraction from the economic problems in Venezuela as the Bolivarian experiment fails to create an alternative to capitalism....

Once his own government ministers refrain from buying Gucci, Prada, Hummers, etc then perhaps there may be a chance of success

Antonio Reyes, Caracas,

Chavez may be trying to become a dictator, mitch from alabama, but the difference between him and Bush is that Bush seems to have had a head start. Im talking invasion of a foreign country on false pretences(WMDs, Al-Qeada), destruction of its infrastructure with scant regard for its people, and the killing of tens of thousands of innocent lives. What is Chavez's body count?

tim, london,

Maybe Columbia’s borders will be more secure now that Hugo Chavez and Rafael Correa are securing their borders, but since Hugo Chavez is in bed with FARC, who knows.
I personally believe Mr Chavez is mad because his personal friend and the person he was planning on replacing Álvaro Uribe with is dead???

Stephen A Maxfield, Arifjan, Kuwait

To the people who don´t know, FARC are terrorists, killers, kidnappers, they don´t represent colombian people, in fact, 98% can´t stand them. Chavez is wrong if he believes we want them in power. Reyes was the equivalent of any member of AlQaeda. so his death was taken as victory here. We´re sick of this people and Chavez.

Carolina, Bogota, Colombia

The world upside down.... For those who do not know, the FARC is a group that has kidnapped more than 3,000 people in Colombia. About 800 remain in captivity. Some 500 never made it back home (e.g. they were executed). The rest are free after having paid huge amounts of money to buy their freedom. Chavez just mentioned that Reyes (the guy that was killed) was a hero, and a great revolutionary. Kidnapping is a violation of human rights. Chavez, therefore, is a "backer" of human right violators. What is wrong with everyone?????? why are governments not saying anything about this????

Alberto Bernal, New York, NY

The man's a great communicator, that's for sure. But this guy, he's been building up his army, calling for volunteers, and he's gotten them. An army gets restless after a little while, popularity's low, so he starts a war. What I think many people forget is that the fascism of WW2 was routed in socialism. He knows he has backing in the region, he is one of 3 Marxist leaders in the area and China will stay out of Central America like they stayed out of the Korean War. Frankly, I don't believe many, if any global leaders would do any differently from Colombia, including Mr. Chavez. Does it make it right?
Probably not. They did the wrong thing for the right reason, they cared about their people. The question is, does Colombia give in to people who routinely kidnap, kill, murder, and rape for the fun of it as many of these drug lords do? Chavez, STAND DOWN! Don't turn Colombia into Guernica, nor make this like the killing of the Arch Duke.

phil, Albany, NY, USA

I am Colombian born and it shocks me to read this piece of news. This reaction by Chavez's part is not only largely irresponsible and unmerited, but he also should have no say in what should be a Colombian and Ecuatorian matter. Any way you look at it, he's wrong. My family has personally been robbed of land, our people made afraid to travel to some of our countries most beautiful features. All by the underlying risk of being kidnapped and held for ransom. Many kidnapped are often killed, regardless if their families agreed to pay the ransom.
The leftist guerilla group, "las FARC" fund their operations and militarization through the ongoing practice of smuggling narcotics. Alot of these narcotic operations also deeply affect the United States cultural well-being. Cocaine and crack addiction is a well known issue among americans, a big contributor this dilemma is the import of cocaine into the US by colombian cartels, many of which maintain close ties or are run by FARC official

Daniel, Miami, Florida

All of this talk about 'security' but what we want is Venezuela's oil. Did we not learn lessons from Iraq? We were told Iraq had WMD's & that they supported Bin Laden even though Hussein & Bin Laden were enemies. We were allies with Hussein when he killed the Turks in the 1980's but only when he tried to take our Oil in Kuwait did we really call him a bad guy. 9/11 gave us the perfect pretense to send troops into Iraq and claim possession of the pipelines. Where are the WMD's? Where is Iraqi stability? Now Al Qaeda terrorists are in Iraq because Iraqi's joined them after they felt we were occupiers. What does any of this have to do with Colombia & Venezuela? Everything. We say the leftists rebels are terrible but what we really want is the Oil in Venezuela! The rebels have been in Colombia for over 40 years, why are we suddenly now trying to get in there- why not before? Are we not going to learn from the past? Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Here comes another WAR!

Sanchez, New York,

Having read the assorted comments,I wonder if the writers are as well informed as they purport themselves to be?
How many Venezuelan troops have actually moved to the border with Colombia?Will Ecuador be stronger for having recalled their ambassador to Bogata?There will continue to be competetion among the Andean nations for their share of the drug riches until the US calls off the socalled "drug war".

J.D.Backer, Phoenix, AZ

"las Farc" lost their privelege to even be negotiated with when they decided to turn extremist. When you kidnap, kill innocent people, bomb commercial centers and fund yourself through detrimental drug smuggling, you should no longer even be considered. Chavez's militarization of the Venezuelan border is indication of a strong bond between the Venezuelan president and the leftist extremist group. If he allies with them, he is allying with their crimes, and their illegal operations. I admire Alvaro Uribe for his efforts to finally bring peace to our country.

Daniel, Miami, Florida

Israel gets bombed for years and years and finally strikes back. They are vilified.

A terrorist commander gets killed. Hugo Chavez threatens war. He is a hero.

Something seems slightly amiss.

Paul, C-ville, IL

Well, news just came out that information taken from three computers that the Colombia army recoverd and which belonged to Raul Reyes implicate directly a senior member of Correa's staff , a minister I believe. Those computer files show how the Ecuadorian government compromised to give the FARC a safe haven inside their territory, protected by its military, as well as a desire by Correa to establish relations with the group.
Not wonder why Chavez and his lapdog Correa were so agitated about the Colombian Army venturing one mile into Ecuadorian territory, they knew the Colombians were not only going after Reyes' dead body.

Alex, San Jose, California

Chavez has long has an agenda to extend Bolivarianism to all Andean countries. he wants to be the dictator of a large Andean block. He is currently using this opportunity to wage war against Colombia's democracy. He will not succeed. He will be ousted by Venezuelans for incompetency. He is a man of limited vision.

Dora, Bogota,

I can see how people are not well inform,and have no idea about colombia's internal problems.As I understand colombia civil war is colombia's problem not the USA or any other country is their problem and for those that do not understand chave's actions let me inform you that they have the right to protect their border ,just like the usa is doing it,but in this case is about the colombian army trying to start war,because that is what the usa wants ,war ,so that they could keep us in Latin America divided and so they could go there with an excuse to take our resourses,just like what they are use to do around the world.wake up people.

Fabrizio, crockett, ca,USA

Wilfrid,

Where are you getting your information? I'm a Colombian, living in Colombia, and I can guarantee that the 70% figure is way off. Try something like <5%.

Just a couple of weeks ago, more than 10 million Colombians marched in more than 160 cities worldwide against the FARC. Do you need more evidence?

Mauricio Ramirez, Bogota, Colombia

It's the attempt to hold on to power until 2050 which makes Chavez a dictator, not the gesture of military might.

But one could go on to argue that dictators are also, on average, more prone to make foolish uses of military might than democratic leaders are.

NBK, Cambridge, UK

Some of you seem to not get one important detail, Uribe did not kill Ecuadorians, but Colombian criminals hiding in Ecuador, hence, this is not a grave action against Ecuador.

Carlitos, Hayward, CA

Chavez is sick; no wonder the King of Spain told him to shut up in a public forum amongst other Latin American leaders. This will be a good reason to aid Colombia if Chavez attacks.

pat w, atlanta,

does Mr Chávez support murder, kidnapping and drug production.

To allow the terrorists to operate from his country he must be getting something from them to make it worth his while. So is he as clean as he makes out. Maybe he wants a war and is trying to provoke one.

Mr Chávez is a relic of a past age and fails to see that marxism is dead and a new way needs to be found. Its funny he attacks the USA actions but he also behaves like them and just sends in the tanks.

knight, aberdeen, UK

I wonder if the Bush administration is salivating at the prospect of perhaps "assisting" the Columbian government. An oil-producing nation with a Leftist at the helm within arm's reach, and finally a "reason" to send troops? Must be Cheney's wet dream.

Marc, Roseville, CA, USA

Let's be clear. Chavez is not a real compassionate capitalist with socialist reforms like Michele Bachlete of Chile. And Uribe is not an upstanding conservative president either. They are both baddies, no need to toss right and left here. Neither is doing a good job and neither respects human rights fully.

I'm very to the left but just because I want to see Uribe go (and Chavez to go too) doesnt mean I want to see the FARC in power- they're disgusting and reprehensible. And they're not really political at all- they're just criminals

C Whelan, Washington , USA

As a progressive, less so a socialist, I tire of Chavez relentless need to be hero to other less wealthy Latin American countries. This is an excuse for him to prop up waning popularity and pull himself, not Venezuela, into the spot light.

Robert, Washington , USA/District of Columbia

Chavez is yet again proving himself to the world as an antagonistic, would-be dictator. Although it is regrettable that Colombia had to stray into Ecuador's territory to accomplish its mission, I'm confident that neither of the two countries that this concerns (i.e Colombia and Ecuador) regard the mission as an aggressive act of provocation. Chavez's decision to loudly send large numbers of troops to the Venezuelan-Colombian border unneccessarily, however, could well be seen as just that. As someone who grew up in N.Ireland as well as lived in Colombia, I'm well aware of what it is like to live in a state threatened by terrorists. Chavez does not. And to laud FARC as 'insurgents' is grossly insulting to all those who have had to suffer under them.

S Annesley, Iga, Japan

Ecuador welcomes guerilla/FARC/drug traffickers as Ecuador is a dollar economy money, the laundering capital of South America. The army is in the pocket of the FARC as they welcome the bribes to lay low (apart from being cowards). Chavez has bought his home support and the support of Latin governments with corruption and stolen oil money. The Latin countries are envious of the stoicism, intelligence, business acumen and energy of the Colombian people and try to dusrupt the advances made by the honest, dedicated President Uribe.
Waken up outside world, Chavez is the greatest threat in the Western hemisphere.

BC, Miami, FL

I must say that Venezuela is reminding me more and more a Hollywood satire.

The peculiarly clownish Señor Chavez is as close copy of Dr. Strangelove's certifiably lunatic General Jack D. Ripper as one can get.

Fulanito Dequal, Washington, DC, USA

What do fascists do when they have internal problems? create an enemy, real or imaginary... Is'nt Chavez's reaction completely out of proportion? But it can be understood in the general context of what is happening in Venezuela. He lost the constitutional recall in december, there are many problems, economic and social, in Venezuela, and people are seeing more clearly the results of his failed policies. Hugo Chavez is a socialfascist, when will the democratic left wake up and see the truth?

Louz, Caracas, Venezuela

How long would he let a group exist across the border in Columbia that was fighting against his government?

Steve, Toledo, OH

does one think the USA will let Colombia go Marxist?

Who is going to come to Chavez' aid when the US kicks his butt?

joe, St.Louis, usa missouri

I'm not sure what mystifies the previous poster. Yes violating Ecuadorian sovereignty is serious. But you can't have it both ways. If you support forces that attack a neighbor, either directly (ie with your own army) or indirectly (by allowing them to base themselves on your territory) you have already violated the neighbors legitimate rights and it is hypocrisy to then complain about sovereignty.

Now it is a more complex situation if the first country is willing, but unable, to stop the rebel force from using their territory as a base.

Ironically, I don't see anything that says that Ecuador has requested Chavez's military intervention, so at best Chavez is threatening to inserting himself into a sovereignty dispute that doesn't even involve his own country, making his case weaker.

I don't think the interests of Ecuador or Columbia would be served by a war. Neither would it serve the the people of Venezuela. Chavez's interests may be another matter.

D. Summers, Menlo Park, CA, USA

President Chavez is an ally of the FARC movement.
One question I would ask to the president of Ecuador " Where was the ecuarotian army if the FARC was stationed in their territory?? Or President Correa is also an ally of the FARC guerilla?? "

What has happened is that now Venezuela and Ecuador will post a great army in their respective boundries . In that way , the FARC could not escape to Ecuador Or Venezeula and could be captured in Colombia. If the FARC passes both armies and escape, the both governments ( Eciuador and Venezuela) are allies of FARC. Chek Mate by Uribe !!!

Wolfgang , Caracas, Venezuela

FARC is a criminal enterprise that kidnaps innocent people for ransom and pushes cocaine--a incredible killer in its own right-- to finance their "revolution". Venezuela should not fall victim to the PC game and allow these terrorists--and yes, they are terrorists--to conduct crimes within their borders and then scamper across into a land and be free from repercussion. Venezuela doesn't just have a right to defend its law, but it has a duty too.

In response to the previous comment..What if I go to your home, rob your belongings, kidnap a member of your family and then scoot back into an area that everyone knows where I am, but nobody will come and make me pay for my crime against you, how would you feel then? Don't you understand how silly you are sounding? Your okay with people commiting crimes, but when enforcement comes its.."Oh, how dare these people."

Ben, Green Bay , Wisconsin USA

Yes, Colombia trespassed the Ecuadorian frontier, but were they supposed to wait weeks for the proper "documentation" to complete their attack? had this been the case, the rebels would have cleaned up the camp, (which by the way, according to Ecuadorian military can hold up to 200 people) and made it look like it was all something that the Colombian government made up. Also, they would have probably also staged inhumane killings as they have done in the past.
Yes, Colombia was wrong in its proceeding, but was it not justifiable? Its not like they didn't apologize and accept it, had they not done so and had they not notified the Ecuadorian government then that would be unforgivable from any stand-point.

Ana, Huila, Colombia

Viva Chavez...He is supporting the negotiated release of hostages and is accomplishing it with rapidity - something that Uribe said was impossible no matter how long the period of time. I love how people claim Uribe is better than Chavez. Go to Uribe's history as a backer and supporter of the AUC, the rightwing death squad/paramilitary organization in Colombia. In Uribe's former role as leader in the Colombian military, he provided direct cover for the AUC and then granted massive amnesty to them when elected, yet the turns around and claims that FARC cannot be talked to for whatever reasons even though FARC has been waging a campaign for many decades following the ousting of a democratically elected leftist government back several decades ago - with the support of the U.S. CIA of course. So yeah, Viva Chavez and support the territorial integrity of Ecuador!

Andrew, New York, USA

Difficult to defeat someone who is supported by 70% of the population. Another 40 years of "war against terrorists"?.

Wilfrid Hartnagel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

My questions are: "How come the Republic of Ecuador has now moved three battalions of troops to the area where the combat between the troops of Colombia and the FARC took place?" Why weren't these troops in place before to prevent the FARC from using Ecuadorian territory as a safe haven to prevent the incursions of terrorists into Colombia? Col;ombia was in it's right to follow the terrorist forces into whichever safe haven is provided to eradicate these terrorists.

David Santiago, Orlando, Florida

Geez, Tim--for all his faults, "dubbya" got rid of of a dictator. Chavez is trying his utmost to become one. You can't tell the difference?

mitch, Mobile, Alabama

I would like to see what Chavez would do if he had militias like FARC in his own country, would he negotiate with them or eradicate them? Chavez does not tolerate any opposition voices & has shut down tv stations that did so & yet he still talks of FARC as if they were saints. Shame on him.

S heath, CAIRO, EGYPT

Tomorrow I will go to your home, and kill you, It's my right, because I think in any moment you would try to hurt me...it's that the principle of the "preemptive war?"

...So, keep clapped wildly such thinks...them you can ask your self ¿why our youngs, in our universitys are killing each others?

Ross Wild, Varsovia,

The response from American contributors is curious. Venezuela and Ecuador cannot allow Colombia to violate their territories. The US should advise their client Uribe to back off before the region descends into war.

The government in Venezuela is elected, not a dictatorship. Perhaps the name-calling is because Chavez does not dance to Washington's tune.

Chavez needs to be careful that he does not give the Bush camp an excuse to depose him.

Liam Gilmartin, Luton, England

Dear Sir or Madam,

A recent book review in your paper maintained that Hugo Chavez's actions more accurately resembled those of Benito Mussolini rather than a marxist.
Given his statements and latest theatrics involving the Venezuelan army the book review seems to be amazingly prescient.

Yours,

John Corkery

John Corkery, Calgary, Canada

US and European politicians need to sit down for a minute to think about the implications of the political mess that Hugo Chavez is creating in the region. Colombians are struggling to get out of a four-decade long civil war, while Chavez uses his money and political influence to squander all efforts made by the Colombian authorities during the past few years. Low level government officials, mayors, governors and even senators (such as Piedad Cordoba) in Colombia have been financed with his government’s petrodollars in a quest to support leftist Guerrillas take control of the country: that’s Chavez’ crazy dream, a scary dream for our community. Every threat, although empty at the end, is carefully uttered in order to push oil prices up and create more instability and uncertainty in the region. The world community needs to realize, quickly, that Chavez is today a major threat to global stability, and that his actions are truly affecting the world economy at times when things are already heading “south”. Let’s stop listening to his relentless rhetoric… Venezuela is a great country… The US and Europe need to take some sort of drastic action against this dictator.

Juan , Cali, Colombia

so he makes a gesture of miliary might and he is a dictator? what does that make dubbya?

tim, london, uk

Another Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro....etc ... etc, the Progressives/Socialists love these kind of people. Bush and/or Cheney plus Haliburton and US Imperialism will be blamed for all of this.
This is how communists have done things for 80 years now.

John W, Fort Worth , USA

Uribe, #82 in the US Narco list enjoys the backing of Bush. Colombia has become a major cocaine supplier to the world thanks to Plan Colombia, now Uribe is moving troops along the Venezuelan border and violating other nation's territories, let's see if Colombia picks a fight with Venezuela and let's see how they perform with all those billions US tax payer pump into plan colombia. They hardly can contain the FARC, I think Uribe is counting on Bush to send the marines. Let's see how is going to turn out. My guess is that Chavez will test his sukois and get backing from many latinameican nations. Latin Americans will not allow Colombia to become a Israel type of nation in the region,

Palomudo, Toronto, Canada

Well considering that hundreds of US troops are in Colombia and I wouldn't be surprised if British special forces have been involved too then a major attack by Venezuela would almost certainly bring the US and possibly others into the war from the off.

Raymondo, Derby, UK

Despite chavez and the Ecuadorian president being close friends, the Ecuadorian people aren't so supportive of chavez. Less than half support him. Chavez hasn't got much support from the people of South America, his supporters however are the ones that count, those in positions of power.
He needs to be stopped, before he turns Venezuela into another Zimbabwe. If he invades Colombia, that gives the U.S and E.U every excuse they need to oust him.

Ali Wood, Dundee,

you mean, they go and invade other countries left right and also middle, right ? yes, dictators do indeed do what they do... and they also steal elections, and have a laugh at the entire planet with his corporate chums... I agree with you.

Lou, London,

America does what America does.

Raul, San Angelo, Peru

The US should put Venezuela on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism!

Samian, Houston, Texas,

He he still Catholic?

Jan, gubin, poland

Can't wait to see the European left try and rationalize Chavez' response...perhaps they will try and rationalize on his behalf? Maybe Ken Livingston will utter one of his famous for saying nothing utterances?

Luis Campalans, Los Angeles, CA, USA

We should come to Colombia's aid if Venezuela stages an Invasion.

Bryan, Houston, USA

Dictators do what dictators do.

Wayne, STL, MO, USA

Chavez personifies all that has held Latin America backwards for decades : demagoguery, insults, volence, lack of respect for institutions and misuse and squander of natural resources. It is hard to believe that the citizens of one of the largest oil producing nations, with oil over $100, cannot even find milk or toilet paper in their supermarkets.

miguel, london,