Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday suspended a scheduled visit to Cuba because he believes Colombia may be planning a military attack on Venezuela.
“The possibility of an armed aggression against Venezuelan territory from Colombia has a probability like it has never had in the last few years, I would even say in one hundred years,” Chavez said.
Chavez said that he had evaluated intelligence and that everything indicates that Colombia is planning a U.S.-backed attack.
The socialist leader has also threatened to cut off oil supplies to the U.S., in the event of a Colombian attack on Venezuela.
Already fragile relations between the neighbor nations rapidly deteriorated last week, after Colombia presented evidence of 87 guerrilla camps in Venezuela to the Organization of American States (OAS).
Following Colombia’s presentation, which include video and photographic evidence, Chavez immediately announced that he was breaking all ties with Colombia.
The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) will meet Thursday to discuss the shattered relations.
Colombia is considering whether to take evidence of numerous FARC and ELN camps in Venenzuela to the International Criminal Court (ICC), given that the guerrillas commit crimes against humanity and then seek refuge over the border.
Colombia and Venezuela have a long history of strained relations. Colombia has hinted in the past that it suspects Venezuela of harboring left-wing wing guerrillas, while Venezuela has complained of the spillover of Colombia’s lengthy conflict into its borders.
Relations between the neighbor nations were frozen in 2009, after Colombia signed a controversial military pact, which grants the U.S. access to seven military bases around Colombia. The socialist Chavez administration views the pact as a threat to regional sovereignty.