Bloggings by boz

Another weekend, another back and forth between the Colombian and Venezuelan governments.

Colombian Minister of Defense Gabriel Silva gave a lengthy interview to El Tiempo in which he said the Colombian military must prepare to counter or avoid an external aggression. The Colombian military also announced it would be building a base near the Venezuelan border and outfitting seven new battalions. In recent weeks, Silva has called on the Venezuelan government to turn over FARC leadership hiding in Venezuelan territory.

Venezuelan President Chavez countered on Sunday by claiming Colombia was the aggressor and saying that the US had flown a spy plane over Venezuelan territory. He ordered his military to shoot down any future spy planes. Earlier in the week, Chavez accused the Netherlands of helping the US plot a Venezuelan invasion.

Semana Magazine calls the Colombia-Venezuela tensions "the third front" facing Colombia (the first two being the FARC and other drug trafficking gangs/paramilitaries).