Chavez Ends Ties With Colombia After "Spit in the Face" (Updated)

Chavez says Colombian advisors want "War"!

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose father was murdered by FARC terrorists, lashed out at Hugo Chavez for "seeking a Marxist FARC government in Bogota and the spread of leftist regimes across Latin America."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (R) and senior rebel commander Ivan Marquez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) walk at Miraflores Palace in Caracas November 8, 2007. (Reuters)

Hugo Chavez froze ties with Colombia today after President Uribe booted Chavez from talks with the Marxist FARC terrorist organization.
The BBC reported:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he has frozen his country's bilateral ties with neighbouring Colombia.

The move follows the decision by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to end Mr Chavez's role as a hostage negotiator with Colombia's Farc rebels.

Mr Chavez said that the decision to end his mediation role was "a spit in the face" and denounced Mr Uribe as a liar.

In response, Mr Uribe said Mr Chavez wants Colombia to "become the victim of the terrorist government of the Farc".

"I declare before the world that I'm putting relations with Colombia in the freezer because I've completely lost confidence with everyone in the Colombian government," said Mr Chavez during a televised speech.

"The companies that Colombians have over here, the companies we have over there - all of that will be damaged," he told his cabinet...

Mr Uribe, whose own father was killed by the Farc, became increasingly irritated by Mr Chavez's apparent disregard for the proper diplomatic channels.

Photos had appeared of Mr Chavez posing with a Farc commander.

Venezuela News and Views has more on the Chavez escalation and blames it on Hugo's low polling numbers- the perfect time to lash out at a foreign adversary to shore up support.

Map showing where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have launched offensives. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe abruptly ended Hugo Chavez's role as a mediator in a potential hostage swap with leftist rebels, saying the Venezuelan president had ignored a key request.(AFP Graphic)

Later, President Uribe lashed out at Chavez claiming he wanted a Leftist FARC Government in Colombia.

Tensions between Colombia and Venezuela soared Sunday, with President Alvaro Uribe charging Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was seeking a Marxist FARC government in Bogota and the spread of leftist regimes across Latin America.

"Your words, your positions, suggest you are not interested in peace in Colombia, but rather in Colombia becoming the victim of a terrorist government of the FARC," Uribe said after Chavez announced he was "freezing" relations with Bogota.

Chavez earlier said he was putting bilateral ties in a "freezer," after Uribe dropped him and a dialogue facilitator, Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba, in negotiations toward the swap of leftist rebels for high-profile hostages guerrillas hold.

"We need a mediation with terrorists, and not people who try to lend legitimacy to terrorism," Uribe said referring to Chavez.

Chavez has been linked to the FARC terrorist group in the past and is suspected of funding the group.

Previously:
FARC You! Democrats Choose Terrorists Over Pro-US Colombia!
Over One Million March Against Terrorism in Colombia
FARC Leader Palmero Found Guilty in US Courts
Terror Teaser... "Babes of FARC" Heat Up Colombian Jungle

UPDATE: President Michelle Bachelet of Chile is also lashing out at Chavez for his outburst at the Iberian-American Summit and his comments at the OPEC Summit on the price of oil.