COLOMBIA VENEZUELA RELATIONS – THE NEW COLD WAR

nchamah miller


President Chavez, needed some prodding before he broke diplomatic relations with Colombia today: of course, he had serious considerations before doing so, given the substantial trade, mainly through the border with Cúcuta, Colombia and Zulia, Venezuela; and economic agreements between the two countries. The Colombian left had been despondent at seeing President Chavez turning a blind eye to all the signs which pointed to severe internal political contradictions caused by the over 1 million Colombians living in the vicinity of Caracas, many of whom have connections with paramilitary gangs, and who have given him no end of headaches. Because of this, Chavez was bound to stay a middle course.

The gloves are off now: as Colombia gets set to ratify a new strategic configuration and its treaty with the “Yanquis” for an extension of their military bases and manning of these bases in Colombia at Apiay, Malambo, Palanquero, Cartagena y Bahía de Málaga. President Chavez has interpreted this as a direct salvo shot at the borders with Colombia. He may not necessarily be correct in his view, because as I indicate in previous articles, Colombia is but the launching pad for the extension of the altered military strategy towards a continent which veers to the left. Certainly, of equal concern, are the air bases currently in Paraguay and t Brazil and the deployment into the waters of the Caribbean, precisely on year ago of the fourth naval US fleet after years of stand-by.


But what President Chavez’s action brings is clarity, and an end to the pussyfooting , which caused Colombians of the left much chagrin. When I speak of clarity I do not mean that now a polarization is clear and when I say chagrin it was the ambiguity inherent in President Chavez position. To begin, Uribe of Colombia, never was a friend of Venezuela, and by President Chavez pretending that he was an economic ally, brought great consternation and confusion, since in effect this allowed Uribe to parade himself all through Latin America as a Bolivarian ally against US colonialism. Now, we see all he was trying to achieve was some sort of consensus that there would be no reaction to the imminent military bases in Colombia. Also, President Chavez, in fact had nothing to lose by breaking ties with Colombia on March 1, 2007 after Colombia’s invasion of Ecuador. But at that time President Chavez has still confident that somehow Uribe could be brought under the Bolivarian mantle and tow; although, we Colombians kept writing and cautioning against this position by the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela.

What will the repercussion be to President Chavez’ firm sleight of hand? After Honduras, nobody can remain under the illusion that the “Yanqui” government continues with its practices of low density warfare which includes a coup d’état here and there to install obeisant governments, such as Colombia, and from there fill the country with their military hardware.

Surely, the operation of lilly-pads and US marine boats in the rivers of Colombia cannot come as a surprise to Chavez, let´s face it if nchamah miller knows about them surely Cuban and Venezuelan intelligence would have them in their sights. So,
Chavez, is maturing as a politician and taking a very opportune moment to position Venezuela’s military strategic forces, because the presence of the military complex in Colombia is not news. Today with these events, politically, this will cause the left in the continent to recognize that there is an escalation of tensions, which Colombians, such as myself , have been warning about for the last 5 years. As far as US relations go, with Hilary Clinton as the Secretary of State, we only see a prolongation of her husband’s foreign policies, and despite the fraternal handshake between President Obama and Chavez in March in Trinidad, the US continues its paternalistic disdain of President Chavez. One has to believe that President Chavez he has a few more surprises in store, and seems to be moving towards an alliance with the BRIC – Brazil (still to be considered a maverick) , Russia, India and China all of which can provide him, and have, with military hardware.