Ecuador's president angrily rejects mending fences with Colombia

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa angrily declined Saturday to follow the example of his ally on the South American left, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, in mending tattered relations with Colombia. 'Our sovereignty has been trampled on and we have been disrespected,' Correa said during his Saturday radio show in Ecuador's capital, Quito. He said he had no interest in restoring normal ties with Colombia, led by conservative President Alvaro Uribe, until there was a government 'worthy of talking to.' Relations between the neighbors have been strained since Colombia mounted a raid in Ecuadorean territory in March that killed Colombian leftist rebel leader Raul Reyes. Ecuador and Venezuela rushed troops to their borders with Colombia, sparking the region's worst crisis in years. Afterward, Colombia claimed that electronic files recovered from Reyes' laptop computers indicated that Chavez was aiding the rebels and allowing the insurgents to use western Venezuela as a haven. Chavez denied the allegations. Chavez and Uribe met Friday in the western Venezuelan refining town of Paraguana and, in Chavez's words, 'turned the page' on relations. Chavez said he would also like Uribe's help in fighting drug trafficking. Uribe proposed a railroad to connect the two countries.