For Hugo Chávez, problems over FARC are just beginning
By ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
By ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
When the dust settles and the escalating Colombian conflict with Venezuela and Ecuador comes to a diplomatically brokered pause, Latin America will have to grapple with a more lasting problem: For the first time in recent history, some countries in the region are openly supporting a guerrilla group that is trying to topple a democratically elected government.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, who until recently was presenting himself to the world as a neutral broker in efforts to release some of the 700 hostages held by Colombia's FARC guerrillas and had sworn ''by God'' that he had never supported the Colombian rebels, has suddenly revealed himself as a committed supporter of the FARC rebels. And the presidents of Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua, all close Chávez followers, are not far behind.
This raises a series of troubling questions: Will the United States, Canada, the European Union, which have characterized the or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC as a ''terrorist group,'' add Venezuela and Ecuador to their list of countries aiding or abetting terrorists? Does Venezuela's support for the FARC set a precedent for other countries to support rebel groups in Venezuela or other Latin American democracies?
On Sunday, hours after the Colombian army attacked a FARC rebel camp nearly two miles inside Ecuador and killed rebel leader Raúl Reyes, Chávez lashed out against the Colombian government, and called for a moment of silence in honor the slain FARC leader, calling him a ``good revolutionary.'' .......
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