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Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez today threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if his country is attacked by Colombia. The government of Colombia last week for the first time openly accused its neighbor of harboring members of the Colombian rebel groups, FARC and ELN. The administration of out-going president Alvaro Uribe presented video evidence that it says, shows FARC and ELN leaders in Venezuelan territory near the border. The accusation prompted Venezuela to break off diplomatic relations with its neighbor. Both countries have recalled their ambassadors to each other. The spat between the two nations is the latest in on-going tensions that involve the US — Colombia is the US’s strongest South American ally. Last year Venezuela accused the governments of Colombia and the US of threatening to destabilize Latin America when Uribe allowed US troops to use Colombian military bases in their anti-drug operations. The US has long financed Colombia’s military and by extension, paramilitaries, with documented histories of human rights violations. Two years ago, Colombia bombed Ecuadorian territory near the border with that country on the premise of attacking a senior rebel leader and his base. Uribe will be replaced by in-coming President Juan Manual Santos in just a few weeks. Local media in Colombia quoted Defense Minister Gabriel Silva explained the timing of release of the video evidence saying that “President Uribe is worried that in this climate of rapprochement with the government of Venezuela, these realities could be forgotten.” President Chavez’s assertion that the step is a move toward a US invasion of Venezuela has prompted international fears with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urging talks between the two nations, and regional Latin American leaders offering mediation.

GUEST: Gregory Wilpert, the author of “Changing Venezuela By Taking Power”, and the editor of VenezuelaAnalysis.com

Read Gregory Wilpert’s writings online at www.venezuelaanalysis.com.