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CARACAS: Venezuela blasted Colombia's leaders as immoral hypocrites on Monday for denying aggressive intentions toward their neighbour after President Hugo Chavez told his country to prepare for war in the region.
"The statement issued (Sunday) by the Colombian presidency is immoral, as it reflects the hypocrisy that characterises the Colombian oligarchy, especially in matters of its relations with independent and sovereign nations," the Foreign Ministry said.
It was the latest tit-for-tat between the ideologically disparate neighbours in their souring relations over a recent US-Colombian military pact to fight drug trafficking that Chavez says masks US encroachment in the region.
Colombia responded to Chavez's sabre-rattling call to arms by denying ever making of planning "any bellicose move" toward its South American neighbours, threatening to complain to the United Nations and the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Earlier on Sunday, Chavez urged his military to prepare "for war" and his countrymen to "defend the homeland," saying that the best way to "avoid war is to prepare for it".
The Foreign Ministry statement said Colombia was "lying" about its military agreement, which is aimed at "projecting the strategic dominance of the empire (United States) across South America, allowing large-scale military operations throughout the region."
It regretted Bogota was shunning regional organisations for help from the United Nations and the OAS over the spat, but said Venezuela was prepared to make its case about the US bases in Colombia on any international stage of their choosing.
Relations between Colombia and Venezuela were frozen in July after Bogota announced its agreement to lease the use of seven military bases to the United States for counternarcotics operations. The 10-year deal was signed last month.
Bilateral trade, which in 2008 exceeded seven billion dollars, has largely subsided since then, notably as tensions have risen along the 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) border region.
Border crossings between the countries were cut off completely this week after Caracas blamed the murder of two National Guard members near the border on "paramilitary gangs" allegedly from Colombia.
- AFP/so
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