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CIAO DATE: 04/03
Colombia-Venezuela Alert: Pastrana, Chávez Seek to Calm Tensions
Hemisphere Focus: 2001-2002
April 20, 2001
Overview
Despite outward appearances of cordiality and friendship between Colombian president Andres Pastrana and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez when they met outside of Puerto Ordaz, a central Venezuelan mining town, late last month, relations between the two Andean countries are at their lowest point in decades and are not likely to improve any time soon. The two countries have bickered constantly over Venezuela's permissive treatment of Colombian rebels ever since Chávez was inaugurated in 1998, when he declared himself "neutral" in Bogota's war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Last year, the two countries temporarily recalled their respective ambassadors after Chávez allowed members of the FARC to speak at a forum in the National Assembly in Caracas where they attacked Plan Colombia, the Pastrana government's strategic plan.
In addition, the two leaders have little in common. Chávez served two years in prison and then won a landslide election by promising to uplift the poor and dismantle a political elite he deems corrupt. Pastrana, on the other hand, is the son of a former president and a prominent member of the South American oligarchy that Chávez passionately deplores. In an apparent gesture of friendship just prior to the meeting, the Chávez government published a full-page ad in Caracas newspapers welcoming Pastrana and hailing the relationship between "Venezuela and Colombia, Bolivarian Brothers."
Leaders Pledge Cooperation
The recent presidential summit was hastily arranged after Venezuela arrested and then released an accused rebel suspected of a hijacking in Colombia. Neither president indicated any agreement on concrete steps to heal the strained relations between the two countries. They did agree to meet again in early May in Bogotá, and instructed their armed forces chiefs to meet to discuss cooperation and possible coordination. Top military brass from the two countries did meet in mid-April for what Colombian general Fernando Tapias described as a "very frank" discussion of border issues. The Venezuelan military reportedly promised to try to stop illegal arms shipments, and both sides agreed to establish five joint border posts. The recently reestablished binational border commission, which includes the civilian defense ministers, will meet later this month in Caracas to continue deliberations.
The two presidents also pledged closer cooperation on bilateral trade that would create half a million jobs in both countries and on refugees displaced by Colombia's civil conflict. They also urged the United States to open its markets to textiles and other exports that can produce jobs for those who now depend on drug cultivation.
Pastrana said the two leaders discussed Venezuela's contacts with the FARC and how those contacts are affecting his efforts to end Colombia's civil conflict. At least publicly, he said nothing about discussions of the incident involving the accused Colombian guerrilla. There are no unsolvable problems between the two, he added. Colombian officials have requested extradition of the suspected guerrilla, claiming that Venezuela has an obligation to turn him over under agreements signed by the two countries. The Colombian ambassador in Caracas, German Bula, said several weeks ago that international treaties on hijacking require Venezuela to extradite the accused hijacker, even if he committed lesser crimes in Venezuela.
Venezuelan Government Mishandles Incident
The latest blow to bilateral relations between the two countries came after Venezuela first arrested and then released José Maria Ballestas, a Colombian accused of hijacking an Avianca airliner in 1999 and holding its 46 passengers and crew hostage. Colombian officials have accused Venezuela of protecting the alleged terrorist and the guerilla movement of which he is part.
Ballestas, a member of Colombia's second-largest guerilla movement, the National Liberation Army (ELN), was arrested in Caracas in mid-February in a joint operation headed by Venezuela's judicial police (PTJ) and including both Interpol and the Colombian police service, the Department of Administrative Security (DAS). Shortly before he was to be deported to Colombia, he was freed on orders from Interior Minister Luis Miquilena, President Chávez' long-time mentor and closest collaborator in the government. From here, the story gets bizarre.
"Their aim is to try to disrupt or break Venezuela's relations with Colombia, which they have not managed to do, and will not be able to do"
After first refusing to acknowledge the arrest until an influential Bogota newsmagazine, Cambio, published a front-page expose and Colombia released incriminating videotape, Venezuelan officials issued a barrage of contradictory statements. Venezuelan defense minister José Vicente Rangel attributed the incident to Colombian journalists' "magical realism" style of journalism.
Uncharacteristically, President Chávez has refused to comment substantively on the subject, only blaming the press for the incident and for fomenting bad relations between Colombia and Venezuela. "Their aim is to try to disrupt or break Venezuela's relations with Colombia, which they have not managed to do, and will not be able to do," he said in a recent television address. Chávez' relations with Venezuela's opposition-dominated media is becoming increasingly confrontational.
At a press conference, Miquilena-forced by circumstances to change course-acknowledged that the arrest had taken place but denounced the part that DAS played in the arrest as an affront to Venezuelan sovereignty. "It is unacceptable for foreign police to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs," he said. Miquilena then fired the head of PTJ, a respected 30-year veteran of the force, and announced that the alleged kidnapper was a victim of "political persecution" in Colombia and hinted he might be granted political asylum. Then, Venezuela's attorney general, former vice president Isaias Rodríguez, announced that there were no charges pending against Ballestas and that he was free to leave the country. Not one day later, other Venezuelan officials ordered the provisional arrest of Ballestas on charges of car theft and weapons possession to prevent him from fleeing the country. Venezuelan authorities have 20 days to formally press charges against Ballestas. Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila said that Ballestas had not filed an asylum application with his ministry, the usual venue for such a request, but Miqilena said that the application had been filed with the Interior Ministry.
Case Raises Questions about Chávez Motives
The case has renewed allegations that the Chávez government secretly supports leftist insurgencies. U.S. and Colombian officials worry that Chávez may be interested in trying to export his so-called peaceful revolution to other countries in the Andes and even that Venezuela could openly support guerrilla movements. This would obviously interfere with the U.S.-backed anti-drug strategy and would also further complicate President Pastrana's peace efforts. A great deal of evidence suggests that both the ELN and the larger FARC have been accorded quasi-diplomatic treatment by the Venezuelan foreign ministry. Some also speculate that Ballestas was acting as a ELN "diplomat" to Caracas and that Venezuela does not want to anger the ELN by turning him over to Colombia. Another press report claims that Ballestas' personal cell phone was paid for with a credit card in the name of a Chavista member of the National Assembly.
During the past few months there also have been increased concerns in Colombia over the spread of arms shipments from Venezuela. Colombian security forces have intercepted large amounts of ammunition in the border area and Venezuelan officials also intercepted a shipment of guns.
Adding fuel to the fire, the influential Caracas daily El Universal reported in late March that Venezuela permitted FARC leader German Briceno Suarez to land in a helicopter in Maracaibo and later take a flight to Cuba. Both Colombian and U.S. authorities want Briceno for participating in the killing of three Indian rights activists from the United States in early 1999.
Venezuela to Take Active Role in Negotiations
Venezuela was recently appointed 1 of 10 international participants in the Colombian peace process, a fact noted by Pastrana in the press conference following the meeting. Venezuela is playing a "very important" role, he said. The Colombian decision to internationalize the peace negotiations may turn out to cause more problems for Colombia and the United States than it will solve. Venezuela, Cuba, France, and Sweden all are likely to use their presence not only to oppose the military aspects of Plan Colombia but also to legitimize the political status of the rebels.
The case has renewed allegations that the Chávez government secretly supports leftist insurgencies.
Chávez, whose approval rating is now only slightly less than 50 percent, continues to face discontent within his own military. There was anger over the appointment to the ministry of defense of former foreign minister José Vicente Rangel, a frequent critic of the armed forces and the first civilian to be appointed to the post in 80 years. In response, Chávez was forced to create a new position of head of the Armed Forces, who reports directly to him and not to the defense minister.
Chávez may possibly fuel tensions with Colombia in an attempt to deflect criticism from his government and to unite the armed forces.
Colombia's media is suspicious of Chávez, and newspapers recently printed photographs of the former lieutenant colonel riding in a tank in maneuvers on the border. Chávez said the exercises were not saber rattling. However, these mid-March military exercises were not helpful in overcoming tensions between the two countries, according to Colombian foreign minister Guillermo Fernández de Soto.
One of the ELN's main areas of operation is along the 1,400-mile long Venezuelan-Colombian border, and the Venezuelan government has been trying to prevent Venezuelan ranchers from forming militias to protect themselves against raids by Colombian bands. Ranchers recently complained to Defense Minister Rangel that Colombian guerrillas cross the border freely. They asked that new security measures be put in place, including a greater military presence there.
In a recent press interview, Carlos Castano, the chief of Colombia's paramilitary forces, said his troops are repelled frequently by the Venezuelan armed forces when pursuing Colombian guerrillas across the border. As a result he has begun to train Venezuelan farmers to start their own self-defense force to confront the Colombian guerrillas.
Because of the confusion and apparent disagreement within the government over the handling of the Ballestas case, Venezuela's motives remain unclear. What is clear is that President Chávez opposes the military aspects of Plan Colombia and all U.S. involvement there. Given the long and porous border between Colombia and Venezuela, it also seems clear that Colombia's civil conflict is likely to spread from time to time and that, as a result, the potential for misunderstandings and miscalculations will remain for the foreseeable future.
Lowell R. Fleischer is a senior associate in the Americas Program at CSIS and the chair of the Western Hemisphere studies program at the Foreign Service Institute. He is also contributing editor of the Latin American Law and Business Report and the North American Investment Report. A retired foreign service officer, he served in Venezuela and is former deputy director of the Washington office of the Council of the Americas. Fleischer has taught at the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts and has served a consultant to the World Bank and the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Connecticut.
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