Venezuela/Colombia conflict features high in Mercosur summit agenda

The Caracas-Bogotá conflict “is not a topic featured in the agenda” of the 39th Mercosur Summit, but “the presidents maintain dialogues on these regional issues,” Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman said during a press conference.

According to official Argentine sources “it is possible for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to attend the summit” in spite of the controversy’s crucial moment and four days before Colombian President Álvaro Uribe hands over power to Juan Manuel Santos.

The tension mounted on Friday after Chávez said he deployed the military to the frontier with Colombia due to what he considered “a war threat” on behalf of Uribe's government, which, on the other hand, ruled out any type of attack on Venezuela.

Chávez broke off bilateral relations with Colombia after the latter presented before the Organization of American States proof of the alleged presence of guerrilla fighters in Venezuela.

The city of San Juan seat of the summit, with a population of around 400,000, did not undergo any security operative in order to prepare for the arrival on Monday of seven presidents said Argentine sources.