In the lead up to Thursday’s Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) meeting, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister will tour South American condemning Colombia’s allegations of a guerrilla presence in Venezuela.
Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro will travel to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Bolivia before the UNASUR meeting, at which Colombia is expected to present new evidence that Caracas tolerates the presence of rebel Colombian groups in its borders.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already discussed his nation’s crisis with Colombia with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
A Venezuelan delegation has also visited Cuba, where Cuban Vice President Ramon Machado Ventura stressed Chavez’s “right” to defend his nation against “threats and provocations” from Colombia.
Venezuela Monday requested that the United Nations (UN) distribute a letter to member states explaining the socialist country’s decision to break all diplomatic ties with Colombia.
Venezuela cut all diplomatic ties with Colombia and vowed to further restrain trade between the countries, following a presentation before the Organization of American States last Thursday, wherein Colombia presented allegations of the existence of 87 Colombian guerrilla bases on Venezuelan soil.
Caracas on Monday also announced it had increased the number of troops guarding the Colombian border. “We sent an enforcement of 980 to 1,000 troops that will join the border patrol guards, but there are no extraordinary operations,” General Franklin Marquez of the Venezuelan National Guard was quoted by press.
Representative from UNASUR member states will meet on Thursday in Ecuador to discuss the rupture of relations between Colombia and Venezuela.