In retaliation to insults from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Tweeted Sunday that the socialist leader should “stop being a coward.”
“I notify President Hugo Chavez that he needs to stop being a coward by throwing long distance insults,” Uribe commented via his Twitter account.
Uribe Tweeted the comment after Chavez called the former president a “promoter of war in Colombia” and a “lackey of imperialism” during his weekly Sunday show “Halo Presidente.”
Chavez also called on all FARC and ELN guerrillas to give “resounding demostrations” that they want peace, and proposed that they free all those that they have kidnapped.
“We are in a new age in the search for peace. The Colombian guerrilla has no future along the path of arms,” Chavez said.
This fresh barrage of insults banded between the two leaders, comes just days after Uribe handed over power to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
On Saturday, Chavez said he was willing to “turn the page” and mend relations that he severed a few weeks ago, after Uribe’s administration accused Venezuela of harboring FARC and ELN guerrillas.
“I am prepared to turn the page completely and look to the future with hope,” Chavez said in a speech broadcast live on television.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro announced Sunday that Chavez will travel to meet with his newly sworn-in Santos in Bogota on Tuesday..
Venezuela and Colombia have had difficult relations after Colombia accused Venezuela of aiding the FARC and Venezuela accused Colombia of supporting the U.S. in a campaign to discredit the leftist government in Caracas. According to Chavez, Washington is seeking ways to attack Venezuela for its large oil reserves.