Colombia-Venezuela relations
Encyclopedia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. The relationship has developed since the early 16th century, when Spanish empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
colonizers created the Province of Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
(now Colombia) and the Province of New Andalucia (now Venezuela). The countries share a history for achieving their independence under Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
and becoming one nation—the Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
—which dissolved in the 19th century. Following then, the overall relationship between the two countries has vacillated between cooperation and bilateral struggle. Diplomatic relations were severed on 2010 but were re-established on , following the inauguration of Colombia's new president.
History
These neighboring countries share a similar history as parts of the Spanish EmpireSpanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
. The border dispute long predates the foundations of the modern nations, and goes back to the difficulties experienced in shaping a boundary between the colonies of Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
(now Santa Marta, Colombia) and New Andalusia
New Andalusia Province
New Andalusia Province was a Spanish province in the 16th century. It was first colonized by Spaniards in 1569, led by explorer Diego Hernández de Serpa. It comprised what is now eastern Venezuela, western Guyana, and far northern Brazil...
(now part of Venezuela). During the colonial era the Guajira Peninsula
Guajira Peninsula
Guajira Peninsula , is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea...
—then inhabited by the Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
indigenous group—resisted the invasion of the Spaniards coming from Santa Marta and New Andalusia, a situation which prevented the colonies from delimiting their territories in the area. The Wayuu tribes were finally subdued by the end of the colonial period with the independence of both colonies in the early 19th century. The new independent territories began formal negotiations to divide the Guajira peninsula in a longitudinal manner. Negotiations failed and the parties asked Spain to intervene. In 1891 the Spanish crown issued a judgment but failed once again to delimit the border because of confusing geographical locations.
Since the 20th century the relationship has evolved with ups and downs mostly regarding the Colombia–Venezuela maritime territory dispute over the Gulf of Venezuela
Gulf of Venezuela
The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by Guajira Department, Colombia...
. The lowest point in the relationship occurred on August 19, 1987, after the Colombian corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
ARC Caldas (FM-52) trespassed into disputed waters and then President of Venezuela, Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...
, ordered the Venezuelan Air Force to the area. The standoff was resolved through diplomatic channels but the dispute remained.
One of the main issues has been the large wave of Colombians who migrated to Venezuela in the 1970s and 1980s, working primarily in low-end jobs. Many Colombian immigrants were imprisoned in Venezuela and kept poor, faced discrimination and endured human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations. The Colombian armed conflict
Colombian Armed Conflict
The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
between the Colombian government and guerrilla groups has also provoked impasses between the two countries. Military illegal incursions by the two countries' military forces into each others' territory have been frequent since the conflict in Colombia escalated in the 1980s, which subsequently triggered forced displacements in Colombia and into Venezuela. Illegally armed groups also trespassed into Venezuela. Contraband flows from one territory to another depending on supply and demand along the shared porous border of 1375 miles (2,212.8 km). Illegal products range from gasoline, drugs
Illegal drug trade in Colombia
Illegal drug trade in Colombia refers to the practice of producing and distributing illegal drugs with psychoactive effects in Colombia. Colombia has had four major drug trafficking cartels which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture...
and weapons to stolen cars. Since 2002, the relationship between Venezuela and Colombia has fluctuated due to ideological differences that separate Presidents Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
and Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
, respectively. The relationship between the two countries once again reached a low point in November 2007 after a failed effort to achieve a humanitarian exchange
Humanitarian exchange
The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord refers to the possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia....
, causing relations to freeze.
1922–1941
End of land border disputeBilateral negotiations continued; in 1922 the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
was petitioned to give a second opinion, which did not occur. In 1939 the Venezuelan government issued a decree imposing a maritime border line from the village of Castilletes in Guajira Peninsula
Guajira Peninsula
Guajira Peninsula , is a peninsula in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea...
to Paraguaná Peninsula
Paraguaná Peninsula
The Paraguaná Peninsula is a peninsula in Venezuela, situated in the north of Falcón State. The island of Aruba lies 27 km to the north. Bonaire and Curaçao are slightly further away. The Paraguaná Peninsula is connected to the rest of the state by a natural isthmus of Médanos. The Peninsula...
which result in most of the Gulf belonging to Venezuela. The Colombian government reacted to this in the late 1940s asking the Venezuelan government to rectify and draw a middle line in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
.
In 1941 once again bilateral negotiations resumed settling the territorial border, but setting a new round of differences regarding the maritime territory.
1941–1987
On April 5, 1941, Colombia and Venezuela created the Tratado de delimitación terrestre y de navegación de ríos comunes (Common rivers navigation and terrestrial delimitation treaty).Secession of Los Monjes Archipelago
Los Monjes Archipelago
The Los Monjes islands, a federal dependency of Venezuela, are located to the northwest of the Gulf of Venezuela, 34.8 km off the coast of Guajira Peninsula, at the border between Colombia and the Venezuelan state of Zulia....
. The treaty was signed by chancellors Esteban Gil Borges
Esteban Gil Borges
Esteban Gil Borges , was a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, writer and university professor.Being born in Caracas, graduates as lawyer and doctor in political sciences at the Central University of Venezuela in 1898, after that joins the Venezuelan Foreign Service, working as lawyer for the border...
, from Venezuela and Luis López de Mesa
Luis López de Mesa
Luis López de Mesa Gómez was Colombian medical doctor, and Harvard psychiatrist, Dean of the National University of Colombia, and Minister of National Education, and Foreign Affairs....
, from Colombia, with the presence of the ambassadors Santiago Rodríguez
Santiago Rodríguez
Santiago Rodríguez is a province of the Dominican Republic. It was split from Monte Cristi in 1948.-Location:The Santiago Rodríguez province has the Monte Cristi and Valverde provinces to the north, the Santiago province to the east, the San Juan and Elías Piña provinces to the south and the...
and Alberto Pumarejo in the city of Cúcuta
Cúcuta
Cúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...
.
The Caldas frigate crisis
Once again, on June 20, 1989, Colombia and Venezuela created the Comisión de vecindad Colombo-Venezolana (Colombo-Venezuelan neighborhood Commission). Colombia and Venezuela then signed the Accord of Open Skies on May 18, 1991. Both countries also create the Comisión mixta para el control del tráfico de estupefacientes (Mixed Commission for the Control of Illegal Drugs Traffic).
1994–1998 – Combifron
In 1994 Colombian and Venezuelan government created the Comisión binacional de Fronteras (Combifron) or "Binational Commission of Frontiers" which intended to exchange military intelligence between the two countries.1995 – ELN incursion in Venezuela
On February 25, 1995, the Colombian guerrilla group National Liberation ArmyNational Liberation Army (Colombia)
National Liberation Army is a revolutionary, avowed Marxist guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964....
(ELN) attacked a fluvial military post, penetrating on the Venezuelan side and killing 8 Venezuelans and injuring 12 Marines.
1998–2002
On April 30, 1998, The ELN guerrilla assaulted the Colombian border town of RagonvaliaRagonvalia
Ragonvalia is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of North Santander.-References:...
. After the attacks the guerrillas crossed the border into Venezuela. Venezuelan president Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
authorized the Colombian Army
Colombian Army
The National Army of Colombia is the land military force of the government of Colombia and the largest service of the Colombian Armed Forces...
to enter Venezuela and fight the guerrillas.
2000 – Venezuelan military incursion in Colombia
On March 21, 2000, Four Venezuelan helicopters and two airplanes entered Colombian airspace and bombarded an area in the jungle region of Catatumbo, in the Department of North SantanderDepartment of North Santander
North Santander is a department of Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the major cities of Colombia....
. On April 23, Colombian and Venezuelan governments signed an accord of understanding the issues of population displacement. This in regards to the Colombian nationals displaced by the conflict and crossing into Venezuela. Between May and June 2000, Venezuelan truckers blocked the border crossing between the two countries protesting the lack of guarantees for their safety in Colombia due to the constant attacks perpetrated by the Colombian guerrillas.
2001 – Ballestas case
In February 2001 the ELN commander José María Ballestas, accused in Colombia of hijacking an AviancaAvianca
Avianca S.A. is the flag carrier airline of Colombia since December 5, 1919 when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Bogotá, D.C. with its hub at the El Dorado International Airport...
airplane, was captured in Venezuela but later released causing diplomatic tensions between the governments of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
and Andrés Pastrana.
Ballestas was later recaptured by Venezuelan authorities and in December 2001, was extradited from Venezuela to Colombia.
2002 – Coup d'état against Hugo Chávez
After the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt toppled Chávez for two days, Pedro CarmonaPedro Carmona
Pedro Francisco Carmona Estanga is a former Venezuelan trade organization leader who was briefly declared President of Venezuela during an abortive 2002 military coup against Hugo Chávez. He occupied the office of President from April 12 to April 13...
fled house arrest and asked for political asylum at the Colombian ambassador's residence in Caracas, which he was later granted. The government of Hugo Chávez criticized the decision but granted Carmona safe passage out of Venezuela.
2002–2008
The relationship between the Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
and Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
administrations has been marked by up and downs.
Rodrigo Granda
In 2004 the relationship became strained again in the Rodrigo Granda affairRodrigo Granda affair
The Rodrigo Granda affair was an international incident that increased tension between Venezuela and Colombia between December 2004 and February 2005.- Events :...
, with the kidnapping in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
of Colombian-Venezuelan naturalized guerrilla member Rodrigo Granda
Rodrigo Granda
Ricardo González also known as Rodrigo Granda is a Colombian Venezuelan member of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He serves as international spokesman of the guerrilla organization.-Arrest in Venezuela:...
. Granda was transported by his captors to the border city of Cúcuta
Cúcuta
Cúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...
in Colombia and taken into custody by the Colombian National Police
Colombian National Police
The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military of Colombia , it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. They are the largest police force in Colombia...
on rebellion charges.
2007 – Post-humanitarian exchange negotiation
In late 2007 Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, through his appointed negotiator Piedad Córdoba, contacted Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to facilitate the humanitarian exchangeHumanitarian exchange
The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord refers to the possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia....
negotiations of prisoners for hostages between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
.
During a private meeting at the 2007 Ibero-American Summit
Ibero-American Summit
The Ibero-American Summit , is a yearly meeting of the heads of government and state of the Spanish-...
, Uribe told Chávez not to contact Colombian military commanders. Two weeks after the summit, Senator Piedad Córdoba got on the phone with the General of the Colombian National Army Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe was a Colombian military General and Commander of the Colombian National Army until his resignation on November 4, 2008 following a scandal involving the deaths of 11 civilians at the hands of the military. Montoya holds a graduate title in Top management from the Los Andes...
. The issue was reported to Uribe who publicly announced the interruption of Chávez and Córdoba as facilitators.
Operation Emmanuel
While relations between the two governments continued to be strained, on December 27, 2007, Chávez publicly said that he had a plan set up to rescue the three hostages promised to Chávez by the FARC guerrilla in compensation. This was after Colombian president Uribe decided to end the mediation by Chávez and Piedad Córdoba.Operation Emmanuel used Venezuelan aircraft in coordination with the International Red Cross to fly into Colombia and rescue the hostages from the FARC.
Operation Road to Freedom
In February 2008, the Venezuelan government launched a new operation to liberate four more hostages held by the FARC: Luis Eladio Perez, Orlando Beltran, Gloria PolancoGloria Polanco
Gloria Polanco is a Colombian woman and former First Lady of the Huila Department as wife of then Governor of Huila Jaime Lozada Perdomo. She rose to prominence after being kidnapped by the FARC-EP along with two of her sons and other members of her building...
and Jorge Eduardo Géchem all of them former senators kidnapped by the FARC in order to pressure the Colombian government.
2008 Andean diplomatic crisis
On March 1, 2008, the Colombian military launched an attack against FARC in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, which ended with the death of some 19 guerrillas, including the group's second-in-command Raúl ReyesRaúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva , better known by his nom de guerre Raúl Reyes, was a Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP...
. The attack targeted a guerrilla camp some 1.8 km inside Ecuadorean territory.
Colombian president Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
called Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
, arguing that Colombian forces had crossed the border during combat in pursuit of the guerrillas. Correa said he would investigate the events and later accused the Colombian government of lying, recalling his ambassador in Bogotá. The Colombian government subsequently apologized for its actions.
Reacting to the event, Hugo Chávez stated that if Colombia launched a similar operation within Venezuelan borders he would consider it a casus belli
Casus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
and verbally attacked the Colombian president. Chavez ordered ten national guard battalions to the Colombia–Venezuela border and closed its embassy in Bogotá. Chavez also offered his support to Ecuadorean president Correa. On March 9, 2008, the Venezuelan government announced that it was re-establishing normal diplomatic ties with Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Chavez asked Latin American nations and the European Union to remove FARC from their lists of terrorist organizations, which they roundly refused to do. FARC was added to the European Union's list in 2002 after the kidnapping of Íngrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
, one of the 700 hostages held by FARC as of 2008. In June 2008 Chávez worked to get FARC rebels in Colombia to release hostages and end their war against the Colombian government. Later, he withdrew his support for FARC.
2009
In late July, the Colombian government claimed that AT4AT4
The AT4 is an 84-mm unguided, portable, single-shot recoilless smoothbore weapon built in Sweden by Saab Bofors Dynamics...
anti-tank rockets manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics
Saab Bofors Dynamics
Saab Bofors Dynamics, located in Karlskoga and Linköping, Sweden, is a subsidiary of Saab AB that specializes in military materiel such as missile systems and anti-tank systems....
of Sweden, which were later purchased by Venezuela were being used by the FARC. In response, President Chavez ordered most staff members of the embassy in Colombia to return to Venezuela, including the ambassador. Only the "lowest functionaries" were left to staff the embassy. Venezuela halted imports of Colombian cars and banned a Colombian energy firm from Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco region. The Venezuelan ambassador was later sent back to Bogotá.
President Chávez stated that the five anti-tank rockets were stolen when the Colombian guerrilla group FARC attacked a military post in 1995 and took the armaments. However, Colombian newsweekly Revista Semana
Revista Semana
Semana or Revista Semana is a Colombian-based weekly magazine. It was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo , but was shut down after a controversial cover depicting Cuban leader Fidel Castro.In 1983, journalist Felipe López Caballero re-founded the magazine...
reported that the attack on the Venezuelan outpost in 1995 was actually carried out by the National Liberation Army (ELN) instead of FARC and that Chávez could not explain how the weapons would have passed from one guerrilla group to another. In addition, former Venezuelan military personnel denied that the rockets in question were ever present in the outpost.
There has also been diplomatic tension because Venezuela opposes military deals between Colombia and the United States.
On November 20, 2009, elements from the Venezuelan army destroyed two pedestrian bridges on the border above the Táchira River
Táchira River
The Táchira River is a river located in Táchira and it divides the border that exists between Venezuela and Colombia in that western state....
. According to the inhabitants of the town of Ragonvalia in Northern Santander, several Venezuelan soldiers confronted Colombian civilians and then used explosives to destroy the bridges from the Venezuelan side. Venezuelan authorities acknowledged the event and claimed that it was done as a legitimate way to stop smuggling and drug trafficking. Colombian minister of defense replied: "It's a serious situation and an act of aggression against the civilian population." The Colombian government said that such actions would be brought before the Security Council of the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
On December 4, 2009, a Colombian soldier was detained by the Venezuelan National Guard after being found on Venezuelan territory, having apparently crossed the border to take a shortcut. The Colombian government demanded that Venezuela unconditionally release the soldier and return him unharmed. Colombian Minister Gabriel Silva called the action "a new act of aggression" and a "violation of the international human right".
2010
The 2010 Colombia-Venezuela diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Colombia and Venezuela over allegations in July 2010 by outgoing President Álvaro UribeÁlvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
that the Venezuelan government was actively permitting the Colombian FARC and ELN
National Liberation Army (Colombia)
National Liberation Army is a revolutionary, avowed Marxist guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964....
guerillas to seek safe haven in its territory. Uribe presented evidence to the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS) allegedly drawn from laptops acquired in Colombia's 2008 raid on a FARC camp in Ecuador, which had sparked the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis
2008 Andean diplomatic crisis
The 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It began with an incursion into Ecuadorian territory across the Putumayo River by the Colombian military on March 1, 2008, leading to the deaths of over twenty...
. In response to the allegations Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations, and there was speculation of a possible war. The crisis was resolved after Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
was inaugurated as the new President of Colombia on 7 August 2010, and the intervention of UNASUR bringing together Santos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
. Chávez told the guerillas that there could be no military solution to the conflict, and Santos agreed to turn over the disputed laptops to the Ecuadorean government. Colombia and Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations.
See also
- Foreign relations of ColombiaForeign relations of ColombiaColombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is very open, relying on international trade and following the guidelines given by the international law.Regional relations...
- Foreign relations of VenezuelaForeign relations of VenezuelaThe foreign relations of Venezuela have since the early twentieth century been particularly strong with the United States. However with the election of Hugo Chávez as President of Venezuela in 1998, the foreign policy of the Hugo Chávez government has differed substantially from that of previous...