Tensions Rise With Chávez In South America

By Douglas Farah

Recent revelations that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in Colombia have received sophisticated Swedish anti-tank weapons purchased by the military in Venezuela has added to the regional strain in South America, which are already running high. The FARC is a designated terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The AT-4 rockets and their launchers were found, according to Semana Magazine (in Spanish) in a camp abandoned by the FARC's chief military commander Jorge Briceño. While found in June, the information was just made public by the Colombian government due to Venezuela's lack of responsiveness on the issue.

The Swedish government has confirmed it sold the equipment to the Venezuelan government.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez reacted as he has in the past: he withdrew Venezuela's diplomatic presence from Colombia and denounced the information as part of giant, fabricated conspiracy against his country.

This reaction is due in large part because Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has decided to let the United States open up to four anti-drug bases in existing Colombian military installations. The move comes after Rafael Correa of Ecuador, a staunch ally of Chávez, decided not to renew the 10-year lease for U.S. use of the Manta base to track Pacific Coast drug trafficking operations.

Unfortunately for Chávez, his denials ring hollow and ability to really sever ties with Colombia extremely limited. This is because, under the Bolivarian Revolution and Socialism of the 21st Century Venezuela has the lowest percentage of arable land under cultivation in Latin America.

As a result of a decade of driving down food production, Venezuela now imports almost 60 percent of its food--most of that from Colombia. My full blog is here.