In the early morning of March 1, the Colombian military carried out a raid against members of the terrorist group Fuerzas Armadas Revolu-cionarias de Colombia (FARC), or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The attack occurred 1.1 miles inside Ecuador’s border, without official permission or knowledge.
South American leaders have condemned this move, none more loudly than Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Colombia and Venezuela share a border and a vested interest in a stable government for both countries as well as reduced terrorist acts.
Last year, Chávez, a socialist, was given permission by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to mediate talks with FARC for future peace talks and a possible “humanitarian exchange.” In November, however, Uribe pulled his endorsement, on grounds that Chávez was trying to legitimatize FARC terrorists, increase power and expand influence in South America.
On March 1, near Santa Rosa, Ecuador, a Colombian Special Forces unit attacked a camp of FARC rebels. In the attack, a known FARC leader, Raul Reyes, was killed, along with 16 others-the first FARC leader killed in combat. Colombian retaliation is expected.
At the same time, in the nearby town of Granada, the Colombian Air Force raided another FARC stronghold, capturing members, documents and laptops, and killing many guerillas. Colombians claim the recovered documents detail plans by Chávez to recognize FARC and have given FARC $300 million with the intent to secure 50 kilograms of uranium.
Rebels were shot in the back and women were not spared, according to accusations. Ecuadorian sovereignty has been blatantly disregarded. It did not give permission for the raid, nor was it informed beforehand.
Fallout has led to the closing of the Colombian and Venezuelan embassies in each other’s countries. Chávez has called the attacks “cowardly murder” and has moved troops to the Colombian border. Furthermore, he has said that, if Colombia were to try a raid in Venezuela, he would respond with military force, threatening a regional war.
Chávez despises the United States and makes it known whenever possible. He has aligned himself with Fidel Castro and has purchased numerous Soviet-made military vehicles, including tanks, trucks and fighter jets.
The United States aided Colombians in this raid in the form of intelligence, provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI. Since the rise of drug cartels led by Pablo Escobar and the Cali family in the 1980s, the United States has made Colombia the focal point in the war on drugs, pouring billions of dollars into training military personnel, spraying cocoa fields and raiding drug-cartel camps.
In 2002, the United States provided $452 million in Black Hawk helicopters to the Colombian government. Acts such as these have provided Chávez with cannon-fodder to rail against America and align rebel groups.
Tyrants like Chávez, who bully and posture, need to be reigned in. Chávez has used Venezuela’s vast oil reserves as leverage to gather power and favor around the world. Worse yet, he envisions himself the heir-apparent to Fidel Castro’s mantle as Latin America’s chief radical and provoker.
The current administration has spread our military forces thin and left them over-worked with wars over supposed weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. More important to national safety is our backyard threat: Chávez.
The soon-anticipated death of Fidel Castro will leave Latin America with a power vacuum, and now is the time for The United States to prepare to fill that vacuum. Restructuring our military action in the Middle East to free forces and financial aid to Latin America will ensure a transition to safety and democracy.
It is up to the incoming U.S. president to rein in this madman using our allies, economic sanctions and incentives to stabilize the South America-not only for their safety, but for ours, as well.
Lew Griffith is a senior in the Saint Louis University School of Nursing.
