Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez, said on Monday that the statements made by the Colombian presidential candidate and former Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, were a "threat."

The Venezuelan leader is concerned about further military actions in the region such as the Colombian military raid into Ecuador when Raúl Reyes, a leader of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was killed by the Colombian Army.

Chávez made this statement at the Teresa Carreño Theater during a special summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). He said: "Juan Manuel Santos, who was Defense Minister at the moment of the military raid, and is currently a presidential candidate in Colombia,... is a threat to all of us, a threat to the neighboring countries of our beloved Colombia."

Chávez termed inappropriate the fact that Santos said that he was "proud" of having "ordered the bombardment of the FARC leader camp." Luis Edgar Devia Silva aka Raúl Reyes was killed in the attack occurred in 2008, along with other 25 people. The military incursion led to a crisis between Bogotá and Quito.

"They have it in for Venezuela. It is a clear threat," the Venezuelan president stressed. Meanwhile Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who attended the meeting, took the floor to describe as "absolutely unacceptable" the statements made by Santos, a close ally of President Álvaro Uribe.

Correa added that if his country is "attacked again in a treacherous way, we will know how to reply." Chávez took the floor again and said: "Any attack against Ecuador would be tantamount to an attack against Venezuela. We would also respond if there is an attack against Cuba or Nicaragua or against any country of the Bolivarian Alliance. It would be as if they attacked Venezuela".

"They threat us because they believe that they have the support of the Yankees (...) You must think about it and act sensibly. This is the reason why we greet the brotherly people of Colombia," Chávez said before mentioning the presence of Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba in the meeting.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas
Source: ElUniversal.com