Colombia Cancels
Chavez's Meditation
Effort With FARC Rebels
Colombia canceled the
mediation effort by
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez with FARC
rebels to release
hostages, President
Alvaro Uribe said in a
statement here on
Wednesday.
Chavez had been invited
by Colombia in August to
broker a swap deal with
the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia(FARC).
Under the deal,
Colombian government has
to release 500
imprisoned FARC members
in exchange for 45
high-profile hostages,
including
French-Colombian
politician Ingrid
Betancourt and three
U.S. contractors.
Uribe called a halt to
Chavez's mediation
efforts because the
Venezuelan leader
directly contacted
Colombia's army
commander, General Mario
Montoya, and asked him
questions about the
hostages, said the
statement.
During a recent meeting
in Chile, Uribe warned
Chavez not to contact
Montoya directly on the
issue, the statement
said.
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