Chávez’s aggressive posturing is an attempt to divert attention from domestic troubles
Although tensions between Colombia and Venezuela have flared up repeatedly in recent years, they appeared to approach boiling point when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ordered his country’s military to prepare for war against its neighbor on Sunday. While Chávez has long accused Colombian President Álvaro Uribe of being a proxy of the U.S., he pointed to a recent military agreement brokered between the U.S. and Colombia as supposed evidence of a coming invasion.
While news of U.S.-Colombia deal was received poorly throughout South America, few – other than Chávez and his allies – would maintain that increased U.S. access to Colombian bases is a precursor to war. However, in a recent editorial the Washington Post asserts that the agreement is something for Chávez to worry about. The Post notes that “the bases will be used for U.S. drug surveillance flights, and Mr. Chávez is known to be cooperating with terrorist organizations that are trafficking drugs from Colombia through Venezuela.”
This concern was echoed by an opposition governor in a Venezuelan border state this week. Táchira Governor César Pérez claims that “[Colombian] guerillas are there with the government’s blessing, and the [Venezuelan] military has orders to leave them alone.”
As the crisis continues to simmer, a wide range of voices in the international community have called for calm. Both Brazil and Spain have taken a leading role by offering to facilitate dialogue between the two countries.
For its own part, Colombia has sought a multilateral solution to the situation. On Wednesday, Colombia made a formal complaint to the U.N. Security Council and is taking similar steps in the Organization of American States (OAS). During an event at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington this week, Colombian presidential candidate Rafael Pardo expressed support for such efforts and observed that multilateral or third-country mediation is the only option to resolve the current situation. Pardo was nevertheless critical of the pact between Colombia and the U.S. that is fueling the current crisis.
Many are right to contend that Chávez’s bombast and aggressive posturing are a fairly obvious attempt to divert domestic attention away from rampant crime and growing energy and water shortages in Venezuela. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that threats of war also divert the international community’s attention away from Chávez’s continued efforts to curb democratic rights and weaken press freedom at home.
Brandon Yoder is a Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy
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