BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — An increasingly isolated Colombia came under heavy criticism from its neighbors at an emergency Organization of American States session Tuesday for killing a top Colombian rebel leader in Ecuador last weekend.
A sense of crisis has enveloped the region as diplomats worked to avoid an armed conflict that could be devastating to a continent that has successfully transitioned into a mostly democratic region after the military juntas and "dirty wars" of the 1970s and 1980s.
Virtually all South American nations, though urging patience, have denounced the cross-border attack that killed Raul Reyes, the No. 2 commander of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe leveled allegations of his own, saying he would bring charges of state-sponsored terrorism against leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the International Criminal Court, citing evidence from the dead rebel's laptop computer that Chavez gave $300 million and other resources to the FARC.
Venezuela, meanwhile, made a move that could halt billions of dollars worth of trade. According to the mayor's office in the Colombian border town of Cucuta, Chavez closed the frontier to cargo, although some trucks with perishable goods were allowed to cross.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, before departing on a five-nation tour to rally support, said the killing of the rebel leader, whose real name was Luis Edgar Devia Silva, may have ruined chances for the release of 12 hostages held by his rebel group, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
At the OAS, Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador said that Colombia's apology for the incursion was insufficient and that the organization should send a special commission to investigate.
Though they may side with Uribe in his fight against the FARC, many Latin American nations have their own territorial disputes and see upholding sovereignty as in their interest.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a moderate socialist and a firm U.S. ally, was among the leaders who stressed the importance of borders and the need to respect them. A border war between Argentina and Chile was averted in the 1970s through papal intervention.
Peruvian President Alan Garcia, another firm U.S. partner and avowed enemy of Chavez, this week conditionally condemned the action by the Colombian military.
