Venezuela’s Chavez to Meet Colombian President Uribe Next Week

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will travel to Cartagena, Colombia, on Jan. 24 to meet with his counterpart Alvaro Uribe. Chavez said today during an event in Zulia state that he is willing to help Colombia’s government reach a peaceful end to its decades-long conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a drug-funded rebel group that promotes a Marxist ideology. Chavez last year urged recognition of the militants as belligerents, rather than terrorists, as they are considered by the U.S. and other countries. Tensions between Venezuela and Colombia spiked in March after Uribe launched an attack on a rebel camp a mile inside Ecuador, a Chavez ally. The two presidents last met July 11 in Venezuela where they pledged to start a “new phase” in bi-lateral relations.