Winds of War in South America

Why have millions of Colombians fled home??

It is well known that much cocaine is produced in Colombia. There is also war but few know it, even though it has caused 40,000 deaths and 3 million refugees, the second ranked refugee emergency in the world after Sudan. Among the few who know, some talk about terrorism (which today is a term used for everything) while others speak simplistically of drug trafficking, just as in Russia they simplify Chechnya by talking of bandits and Cavour in the south of Italy by talking of brigands.

Álvaro Uribe is the President of Colombia. Since his election in 2002 he has maintained a policy of firmness against Marxist rebels of the FARC, who killed his father during an attempted kidnapping. The policy of Uribe has brought him great friendship with the United States and billions of dollars in aids against drug trafficking.

East of Colombia is Venezuela. It is not so well known that Venezuela is among the top ten oil-producers of the world. Hugo Chavez is the president of Venezuela, charismatic leader of the new Latin-American left, follower of Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara. The policy of Chavez, so close to Cuban Fidel Castro, made him "build", so to speak, in the USA. Chavez also shares the antipathy since he has done everything to remove the South American continent from North American policies (NAFTA, the war on terrorism ...).

The FARC consider Chavez an ally, for ideological and political issues. Chavez and Uribe do not like each other, and like each other even less since Chavez has used his influence on the FARC to release some hostages, including the collaborator of the Colombian-French Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate.

Two days ago Colombian planes bombed an area of the FARC over the border with Ecuador and killed two of the greatest leaders of the movement. The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, good ally of Chavez, broke diplomatic relations with Colombia to protest against the violation of its national sovereignty, and has sent troops to the border. Chavez, supporting Correa, has deployed ten battalions of tanks on the border with Colombia and has been put on alert aviation, as well as breaking diplomatic relations.
Analysts say that a war between the three countries is unlikely but not impossible.

Anyone who wants to understand more can read an extensive dossier on Reuters AlertNet.