Burning border

Two years at odds with Colombia

Timeline of the diplomatic spat between Venezuela and Colombia

People trying to cross the Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander bridge (File Photo: Manuel Rodríguez)

Killing of Venezuelan troops exacerbates Colombia-Venezuela tensions

Western Hemisphere

August 31st, 2007
Presidents of Colombia and Venezuela, Álvaro Uribe and Hugo Chávez, made formal in Bogotá the Venezuelan Head of State mediation for a humanitarian swap between the guerrillas and the Colombian government.

November 21st, 2007
Uribe put an end to Chávez's mediation due to a telephone call made by Chávez to a member of the Colombian military high command without the prior consent of the Colombian president.

November 25th, 2007
Chávez announced frozen relations with Colombia and termed Uribe a "liar". Uribe, in turn, strongly recommended his counterpart "not to set fire to the hemisphere" and accused him of fostering an "expansionist project that will not make room in Colombia."

March 1st, 2008
Colombia reported on the death of the second in command of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), Raúl Reyes, in Ecuador. This resulted in a tremendous impasse –which has not been overcome- with the Ecuadorian and Venezuelan governments.

March 2nd, 2008
Chávez ordered to "shut down" the Embassy of Venezuela in Bogotá and the transfer of "10 battalions" to the border, to protest against the raid of Colombian troops in Ecuador.

March 7th, 2008
The gap between Colombia and Venezuela was bridged in the Rio Group Summit held in the Dominican Republic. Colombian ambassador to Venezuela Fernando Marín returned to Caracas.

July 21st, 2009
Chávez reported on a revision of the Venezuela-Colombia relations following an agreement reached by Bogotá and Washington to allow the deployment of US troops in Colombian territory.

July 27th, 2009
The Colombian government claimed that rocket launchers property of the Venezuelan government was found in the hands of FARC. Three days later, Chávez recalled his ambassador to Colombia Gustavo Márquez.

October 25th, 2009
Eight Colombian who had been kidnapped in Andean Táchira state were found slain. The day after, the Venezuelan government sent a notice of protest to Colombia for "spying" conducted by DAS agents in Venezuelan territory.

Translated by Conchita Delgado