News

April 11, 2008

Political Risk Analysis: War Between Colombia And Venezuela Called Off… For Now

By Our Risk Reporter from Risk Bureau

Early last month, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador nearly went to war, but soon thereafter, shook hands and made up. To the casual observer this all seems very odd, but the real tensions underlying Colombia’s relations with its’ neighbour Venezuela in particular, and with Ecuador marginally less so, haven’t really gone away. The strange thing of course, is that Colombia violated Ecuadorian sovereignty, yet Venezuela felt impelled to threaten war. How’s that for political complications?

A quick synopsis of events: Colombian troops crossed into Ecuador on 1st March in a raid that killed 21 Colombian Marxist guerrillas including Raul Reyes, who was among the most senior commanders of the rebel FARC movement. On 2nd March, President Chavez of Venezuela placed his country on a war footing by dispatching thousands of troops and tanks to his country’s border with Colombia. Ecuador, the injured party, did likewise. For a couple of days, a tense military stand-off followed, as...