MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No end in sight to Andean conflict

President Rafael Correa's outrage over Colombia's cross-border raid on a rebel camp in Ecuador has improved his popularity, strengthening his chances of gaining approval for constitutional reforms later this year.

Correa declared the incident over after rightist Colombian President Alvaro Uribe apologized and promised not to repeat such an attack at a summit of Latin American leaders. But that detente has proven to be short-lived, and with the discovery that an Ecuadorean man was killed in the raid along with Colombian rebels and several Mexican leftist students, Correa is now threatening a new diplomatic offensive against Colombia. "This government will not allow this case to go unpunished," Correa said as the family of Franklin Aisalla prepared for his funeral on Friday. Even if "Aisalla is a criminal, a guerrilla as they want to categorize him, it does not justify killing an Ecuadorean on Ecuadorean soil by foreign forces," he said. Aisalla's family was finally able to bury him after his body was returned from Bogota, where commandos initially mistook it for a wanted Colombian rebel. Ecuador's Foreign Ministry called his killing a violation of international law and promised to support the family in seeking reparations. Bogota's defense minister said he does not understand why Ecuador would be upset about the death of someone involved with the rebels, setting off another harsh exchange between Quito, Bogota and Caracas â€" where Correa's key Andean ally, leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, had encouraged a military and diplomatic showdown over the raid. Correa's nationalistic response has gained him critical support domestically, just as support was flagging for both his presidency and a constitutional assembly that is the centerpiece of his first year in office. The president is pushing all-out for a new constitution to curb the power of Ecuador's discredited political parties, which he blames for severe political instability that has resulted in nine different presidents since 1996, three of them driven prematurely from office. According to a Cedatos-Gallup poll, only 38 percent of Ecuadoreans approved of the assembly on Feb. 10, a 24-point drop since the body first convened in November. But surveys after the March raid showed 80 percent of Ecuadoreans backing Correa's stance toward Colombia, and some analysts think he's using the dispute for political gain. "There is a great temptation to take full advantage of this," said Michael Shifter, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter American Dialogue. "It would be convenient to have such broad national support" as the assembly finishes its work and sends its reforms to a national referendum. Correa is well known for his determination to get his way. Since taking office in January 2007, he has trampled the opposition and international press freedom organizations have criticized his attacks on Ecuador's media. Last year, he resorted to constitutionally questionable tactics to call an election for the special assembly. Meanwhile, his nationalist stance has alienated important sectors of Ecuador's business class as he seeks greater state control over industries such as oil, mining and telecommunications. Despite the criticism, many Ecuadoreans say it was time that Ecuador stood up to its bigger neighbor, whose armed conflict has spilled over their border, bringing violence and hundreds of thousands of refugees. Correa "defined a very clear position against Colombia, telling it: 'Enough, Ecuador won't accept this anymore,'" said political analyst Jorge Leon. "It's a conflict that is not ours, and we are not going to fight in the place of the Colombian armed forces." Outside Ecuador, observers are watching and worrying about what Correa might do next. Violations of territorial sovereignty are rarely treated lightly in Latin America, and the region's leaders supported Correa's vehement response to Uribe's justifications for the March 1 attack on the camp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Eager for calm to be restored to the volatile Andean region, they also erupted in thunderous applause at the summit when Correa and Uribe exchanged stiff handshakes. But just because Correa said the crisis was over "does not mean that it is over," said Adrian Bonilla, director of a Quito think tank. (AP)