Hugo Chavez severs ties with Colombia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10734117

Venezuela has broken off diplomatic relations with Colombia.

In the latest turn for the worse in the strained relations between the two countries, the Venezuelan government ordered Colombian diplomats to leave by Sunday.

President Hugo Chavez said he had "no choice" after Colombia accused Venezuela of being a haven for guerrillas - a charge he denies.

He said that he was acting "out of dignity" in severing ties.

He also ordered the military to be on maximum alert on Venezuela's border with Colombia.

President Chavez made his announcement shortly after a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington, at which Colombia presented videos, maps and photos to show that Marxist Farc and ELN rebels have bases in Venezuela.

The Colombian Ambassador to the OAS, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, said the material was clear evidence that some 1,500 Colombian rebels were sheltering at numerous camps inside Venezuela.

Mr Hoyos said the photographs showed that the rebels had 39 camps in Venezuela and that top guerrilla commanders were resident there.

His Venezuelan counterpart, Roy Chaderton, ridiculed the Colombian evidence, saying that the photos and videos could have been taken anywhere.

Mr Hoyos demanded that Venezuela fulfil its international obligations to fight terrorism and that it allow an international commission to visit suspect sites.

After the meeting, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters that the regional body could not mount an inspection mission without Venezuela's consent.

President Chavez did not respond directly to the demand but said the US was using Colombia to undermine his country's regional integration efforts.

A US official was quoted by AFP news agency as saying Venezuela breaking ties with Colombia was not a "proper way" to raise concerns.

The issue over whether Venezuela has rebels on its territory has dogged ties between the two South American nations for the past eight years.

But the latest exchange plunges bilateral relations to a new low.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says it also leaves Juan Manuel Santos, who takes over as Colombia's president from Alvaro Uribe in two weeks, with a very difficult situation to handle.