MIAMI -- The specter of war looming over Colombia and Venezuelafollowing the recent killing of a Colombian rebel leader comes amid anongoing and significant increase in Venezuela's military spending inrecent years. Venezuela's military buildup and continuing concernsabout its government's ties to left-wing rebels provide aworrying context for Venezuela's recent troop mobilization, though mostanalysts still believe the chances are slim that the current crisiswill spark a military conflict. His aim, Chávez said in a fiery national address, is to prevent Colombia from repeating the same move on Venezuelan soil, where FARC rebels are believed to take refuge. Chávez said he would prefer to avoid a conflict with Colombia, with which Venezuela does about $4 billion in bilateral trade every year, but was preparing for the possibility nonetheless. Ever the critic of the United States, he accused Bogotá of doing Washington's bidding in its handling of the country's rebels.
Colombia's decision over the weekend to cross into Ecuador to kill rebel leader Raúl Reyes and 16 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who were reportedly camped just a mile from Colombia along the two countries' dense jungle border, apparently stirred the ire of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who called for the deployment of thousands of troops and tanks to Venezuela's own border with Colombia.
Venezuela Mobilization Comes Amid Continuing Concerns About Military Spending, Rebel Ties
