Venezuela Army Chief Vows to Repel Colombia Rebels

reuters.com reuters.com Tue March 11, 2003 03:41 PM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's army, rejecting Colombian charges that it is letting leftist rebels operate from Venezuelan territory, said on Tuesday it would drive out any guerrillas or paramilitaries that crossed the border.

Venezuelan army commander Gen. Jorge Garcia Carneiro also called for talks with his Colombian counterpart to discuss security along the rugged, 1,400-mile frontier that separates the two Andean neighbors.

"Neither the army, nor the armed forces in general, are going to let anyone use Venezuela as a hideout, and much less irregular forces," Garcia, who was made army chief in January by President Hugo Chavez, said at a news conference.

Relations between Bogota and Caracas have been strained again this month by insistent charges by Colombian officials and media that Chavez's government is allowing Colombian Marxist rebels to set up camps in Venezuela.

The left-leaning Chavez is frequently accused by his domestic and foreign foes of collaborating with Colombian guerrillas, but he has repeatedly denied these accusations. He warned the guerrillas Sunday not to meddle in Venezuela.

While vowing to protect the long frontier, Garcia said its length and terrain -- a patchwork of jungle, savannah and mountain -- made it impossible to patrol every inch.

"Even if you had 300,000 troops holding hands you're never going to be able to control the frontier, because it is a very extensive zone," he said.

Colombian politicians and media have alleged that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, the top commander of Colombia's biggest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, has been hiding out in Venezuela.

Garcia said the Venezuelan army would try to keep him out.

"The day that Marulanda, or any other irregular crosses the frontier line, then he is going to get a tough response from our army," he said. Garcia added that unlawful incursions by the Colombian armed forces would also not be tolerated.

Garcia has been fiercely criticized by opponents of the populist president who accuse the general of using his troops to back the Venezuelan leader's self-styled "revolution."

Chavez, who survived a coup by rebel military officers last year, used soldiers to break an opposition strike in December and January that crippled oil output in the world's No. 5 oil exporter. Oil production has been steadily recovering since the strike petered out in early February.

Garcia is currently managing a national food distribution program aimed at offsetting shortages caused by the strike.

He has also been a key figure in a campaign started by Chavez to involve the armed forces in development work, such as building houses, providing medical services and growing food.

Critics of the president say he is turning the armed forces into his personal Praetorian guard and is also dragging the country toward Cuban-style communism.