What Can Calm Tensions Between Venezuela and Colombia?

By Michael Shifter, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, Luis Alfonso Hoyos
Latin America Advisor, July 27, 2010

What Can Calm Tensions Between Venezuela and Colombia?

Q: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on July 22 severed diplomatic relations with Colombia over Bogotá's accusation that Colombian rebels are taking refuge in Venezuela. Chávez also said earlier this month that he will not attend the Aug. 7 inauguration of Colombia's incoming president, Juan Manuel Santos. Trade between the two countries has also plummeted since Chávez blocked most imports from Colombia. Will bilateral relations improve at all under Santos? Who is suffering the ill effects of the reduced trade? What is needed to calm tensions between Bogotá and Caracas?

A: Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue: "From all indications, Santos will seek to reset the complicated relationship between Colombia and Venezuela. His more restrained words, even during the presidential campaign but particularly after his election, point to an increasingly pragmatic and even conciliatory approach in dealing with the Chávez government. Santos' emphasis stems from his strong focus on Colombia's economic performance and especially the need to boost trade and thereby create more jobs; it is also reflected in his selection of Maria Angela Holguin, a consummate professional and former ambassador to Venezuela, as his foreign minister. Santos is keenly aware, however, that it will not be easy to achieve a rapprochement with Chávez. He clearly has no illusions about Chávez's geopolitical aims and the FARC's presence in and use of Venezuelan territory to regroup. It is hard to imagine that bilateral relations will fundamentally improve, at least politically, as long as there is no serious effort to address the question of FARC camps operating in Venezuela. There are reasons why the FARC can be a problem for Chávez—the insurgency's corrupting effect and its problematic relationship with Venezuela's armed forces, for example—which seems to be Santos' calculation. He believes that by lowering the tone of rhetoric against Chávez and appealing to his sense of political self-interest, it might be possible to deal more effectively with the FARC problem in Venezuela. It is unclear whether such an approach will work, but Santos appears determined to pursue it, not only for the sake of Colombia's economic interests but also to set himself apart from the more confrontational style often practiced by Álvaro Uribe. Although that style yielded substantial political rewards for Uribe in Colombia, it proved costly for the country's standing in the region and also in Washington. Santos wants to strike the right balance between tough-minded realism and diplomacy that is more attuned to international public opinion."

A: Bernardo Álvarez Herrera, Venezuela's ambassador to the United States: "Prior to the 2009 crisis over the U.S.-Colombia military agreement, trade between Venezuela and Colombia—promoted primarily by the Venezuelan government—reached historic highs. It has been the government of President Álvaro Uribe that has continually torpedoed the relationship between the two countries—both commercial and political. Just before President Uribe's most recent repetition of irresponsible and baseless accusations against Venezuela, both President Chávez and President-elect Santos openly expressed their willingness to improve bilateral relations. It is for those reasons that Uribe's untimely and aggressive claims against Venezuela—and the shameless way in which the Organization of American States was used to perpetuate them—are that much more frustrating. Relations between Colombia and Venezuela are complex and dynamic, even more so with the multilayered six-decade-old conflict that has torn apart our sister nation. An improved bilateral relationship will have to be based on mutual respect and the understanding that Venezuela, more than any of Colombia's other neighbors, has been broadly affected by the country's conflict—one we do not believe will be resolved by military means and one we cannot get involved with. What is needed to calm tensions between Bogotá and Caracas is that the new government distance itself from Uribe's policies of unfounded aggressions against our country and adopt a real disposition to cooperate in terms of common problems and the development of our nations."

A: Luis Alfonso Hoyos, Colombia's ambassador to the Organization of American States: "On July 22, before a special session of the Permanent Council of the OAS, I denounced the presence of Colombian guerrilla camps in Venezuelan territory, and the effects of their presence in both countries. Among those effects are drug trafficking, arms trafficking and kidnappings. The presence of terrorist groups is growing and has been consolidated. Evidence presented to the Permanent Council consisted of photographs, videos and satellite images taken within the past month of the presence of guerrillas in Venezuelan territory, emphasizing that they operate freely without persecution by Venezuelan authorities. The Colombian government requests that Venezuela meet its national and international obligations to destroy the camps and prosecute the guerrilla leaders who occupy them. Colombia also requests that the OAS constitute an International Commission of Verification composed of member states in order to visit the five permanent camps in Venezuelan territory within the next 30 days, as well as a verification visit to the sites that are listed on the computer that belonged to guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes, who was killed in the Colombian Army's attack of a FARC camp that existed in Ecuadorean territory. The Colombian government is also willing to cooperate with member states and receive such cooperation as to clarify the facts and punish those responsible for the actions of the Colombian guerrillas. In this regard, Colombia will provide the courts of those nations with the young Colombians who have recently defected from the guerrillas and have offered valuable information on those facts."

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