Venezuela, Colombia tackle trade, border troubles

Reuters-Alertnet.org 23 Apr 2003 18:02:08 GMT By Magdalena Morales

PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela, April 23 (Reuters) - Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, ideological opposites and uneasy neighbors, met on Wednesday to try to settle a war of words over border security and salvage faltering trade ties.

The two presidents held a one-day summit in eastern Venezuela amid recriminations from both sides over violent incidents along their 1,400-mile (2,200-km) border involving Colombian guerrillas and paramilitaries.

But it was all smiles when the two -- ebullient former paratrooper Chavez and straight-laced lawyer Uribe -- began their talks in the industrial city of Puerto Ordaz.

Chavez told reporters "I love Colombia" and Uribe presented his Venezuelan host with a ceremonial Colombian poncho.

Uribe's government, the United States' closest ally in Latin America, has repeatedly accused left-winger Chavez, who is portrayed by his critics as an anti-U.S. maverick, of providing a haven for Colombian Marxist rebels.

Washington has made Colombia its third-largest recipient of foreign aid, after Israel and Egypt, to help battle drug-traffickers and rebels waging a four-decade war.

Uribe wants Venezuela to help crack down on the leftist guerrillas his government says shelter over the border.

Bogota has been investigating complaints by border residents that Venezuelan military aircraft bombed a Colombian frontier hamlet on March 21, killing and wounding several people. Local residents said the aircraft supported Colombian rebels who were fighting rightist paramilitary groups.

Denying the charges, Chavez's government has accused the Colombian army of collaborating with the paramilitaries on the rugged frontier, a patchwork of mountain, jungle and savanna, where killings and kidnappings plague local communities.

"We want the best relations with Colombia, but we can't allow anyone to lie about or insult Venezuela," Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said as the two presidents met in Puerto Ordaz.

Outlining the agenda for Wednesday's talks, Chavez said the meeting would focus as much on improving bilateral trade and economic cooperation as on the frontier, which has historically been a point of conflict between the two Andean neighbors.

"The greatest threat facing us is poverty," the Venezuelan leader said in Puerto Ordaz, adding that instead of squabbling over the border the two governments should concentrate on improving the living standards of their people.

The two leaders were expected to discuss proposed joint energy projects, such as one to provide Venezuelan electricity to Colombia and another for a pipeline that would carry Colombian gas to refineries and power stations in Venezuela.