Colombia/Venezuela tension...the view from inside

[Fountain79]

I live and work as teacher here in Colombia. It is quite a beautiful country and the people here are pretty amazing. I live in the coffee region of Colombia, away from the FARC and the border. It's interesting to see how people here react to the situation. I have heard plenty negative about Chavez since I have been here. Many see him as someone trying to take advantage of Colombia's guerrilla situation. I do try to keep in mind that the majority of the families I work with are the wealthy and understandably are against Chavez, but it seems in general I don't find much support for him here in Colombia.

Most Colombians I talk to seem to feel that Chavez is merely beating his chest, looking for attention and a reaction from Colombia. So far from the inside I have to commend Uribe for his actions. He hasn't tried to go tit for tat with chavez on force. While there is some arguments over who has better equipment, I would wager Colombian soldiers are far more battle hardened. Understandably I am nervous about the possible escalation but I can't help get the sense that this is posturing and nothing else.

[ananda]

1. Totally disagree.

Yours is a completely insulated view, skewed
by its narrowness and uttlerly false.

Chavez is the good guy. What Venezuela and
Ecuador are doing is trying to provide a haven
for pro-people, pro-labor forces in an effort
to stem the evils of free trade and USA incursion
in their markets.

What the USA is trying to do is use Columbian rightwing
paramilitary forces to crush dissidence and any movements
or leaders that are fighting for fair trade, fair labor,
and for the countries and their people to have control
over their own lives and futures.

Sue

[Fountain79]

2. ahem...

Did you read that from a script? I was waiting for the just kidding line....

Chavez is not a good guy. He's trying to involve himself in a country's own civil war by cozing up to the FARC and other guerilla groups. If Uribe is this thug that some want to make him out to be, why hasn't he responded by building up his own forces at the border? The Colombian army is larger than the Venezuelen army and more tested. Why is he trying to go through international channels against Chavez instead of trying to answer the bully's call?

And not to be picky...but it's ColOmbian

[bobthedrummer]

3. Well, the CIA tried to "neutralize" Chavez-and failed. That is a fact, not "posturing"...

Uribe is BFEE.

Here is a link to The Colombia Documentation Project from The National Security Archive for those of US that are not in your shoes, and seeking a more balanced perspective.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/colombia/index.htm