Venezuela is bringing in thousands of Russian missiles, rocket launchers, and tanks as part of a massive military buildup against Colombia. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the move on state television this week amid growing tensions between the two South American countries.
Chavez has repeatedly claimed over recent months that American-backed Colombia is preparing to attack Venezuela hence the need for Venezuela to protect itself. He said he considered the towns along the Colombian border in the state of Tachira as a high-security corridor. In order to strengthen security along the corridor, Chavez said he would purge the ranks of local police forces and then train the National Guard to work alongside the National Police.
This week at the Mercosur Presidential Summit in Uruguay, attended by South American leaders, Chavez said that U.S. bases in Colombia amounted to an American “war plan against South America,” reported Spanish media. In his weekly TV and radio address called “Alo, Presidente” a few days prior.
The Venezuelan dictator stated further that although Colombia and the U.S. had been trying to hide it, the bases give Washington a “great capacity to come on us at any time [thanks to] espionage, interception, intelligence, and monitoring.”
Colombia’s vice president, Francisco Santos, in turn accused Venezuela of imposing a trade embargo on Colombia, which Chavez denied, as reported in Colombia’s El Heraldo.
Both Colombia and the U.S. say that their military cooperation only extends to fighting drug trafficking.
