http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13351-colombia-asked-us-for-military-intelligence-on-venezuela-wikileaks.html
Colombia asked US for intelligence on Venezuela: WikiLeaks <http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13351-colombia-asked-us-for-military-intelligence-on-venezuela-wikileaks.html> Friday, 10 December 2010 08:20 *Adriaan Alsema * ** *[image: Colombia news - Bogota cable]* Colombia asked the U.S. for a "continued intelligence exchange on Venezuela" in 2008, diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks revealed Friday. In a *leaked cable <http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/04/08BOGOTA1391.html>*, sent by then-Ambassador to Bogota William Brownfield on April 14, 2008, then-armed forces commander Freddy Padilla asked the ambassador for intelligence on Venezuela, a month after Colombia had attacked a FARC camp in Ecuador and military tensions with its neighbors were high. *Padilla said that from a military perspective, he was satisfied with the way the recent border dust up with Venezuela and Ecuador played out. The Colombian military saw that the Venezuelan Armed Forces were considerably weaker than they had believed. In contrast, the Ecuadorian military showed it was a much more professional, if smaller, force than its Venezuelan counterparts. Padilla acknowledged that the Colombian military needed to reestablish its bilateral relations with the Ecuadorians, but said this would take time. He again asked for continued intelligence exchange on Venezuela, and also sought any additional intelligence the USG could provide on Ecuador. The Ambassador committed to looking into the matter, but reminded Padilla both countries benefited by keeping the intelligence relationship quiet. Padilla agreed.* According to the same cable, Brownfield and Padilla discussed the establishment of a U.S. military facility at Palanquero, which was part of a military pact between Colombia and the U.S. a year and half later and caused friction with its neighbors. The pact was later turned down by Colombia's Constitutional Court. The cable is one of a total of 2,416 diplomatic cables sent to or from Bogota that were leaked to the whitleblower website. Uribe proposed capturing guerrillas in Venezuela*Posted: Dec 11, 2010 8:45 AM PST **Updated: Dec 11, 2010 11:45 AM PST * By VIVIAN SEQUERA Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was ready to order troops to cross into Venezuela and capture rebel leaders in 2008, according to a secret U.S. document released by WikiLeaks. Uribe also told visiting U.S. congressmen, according to another newly released document, that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez represented a threat to South America similar to the one Adolf Hitler once posed to Europe. Uribe believed "the best counter to Chavez ... remains action - including use of the military," according to a Jan. 28, 2008, report from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota that was published Friday by the Spanish newspaper El Pais. The newspaper provided links to the documents, which have not been posted on the Wikileaks site. Uribe "said he was prepared to authorize Colombian forces to cross into Venezuela, arrest FARC leaders, and bring them to justice in Colombia," according to the report. The Colombian leader ended his presidency in August amid bitterness and hostility with Chavez, whom Uribe accused of tolerating the presence of leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Chavez has long denied sheltering the leftist rebels. Uribe discussed the idea of a military operation in a meeting with U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was unclear how Mullen responded. Another Embassy document dated Dec. 6, 2007, said that Uribe "likened the threat Chavez poses to Latin America to that posed by Hitler in Europe." It also said Uribe believed Chavez "was trying to create a 'personal empire,' and had expansionist plans in the region for his model of 'new socialism.'" Uribe had previously authorized a covert operation to capture a FARC leader in Venezuela. In December 2004, undercover Colombian agents captured Rodrigo Granda in the country and spirited him back to Colombia - an effort that unleashed the first of multiple diplomatic crises with Chavez's government. Granda was later freed from a Colombian prison in 2007 as part of the Colombian government's efforts to secure the release of hostages held by the FARC. Less than two months after Uribe's meeting with Mullen, Colombia's military attacked a FARC camp in Ecuador on March 1, 2008, killing Raul Reyes, one of the rebel group's senior leaders. That raid near the Colombian border sparked a diplomatic spat with Venezuela and Ecuador, which Uribe defused soon after by apologizing and pledging not to repeat such an action. A year later, Chavez froze diplomatic ties with Uribe's government after Colombian officials said that Venezuelan weapons had ended up in the hands of FARC rebels. Chavez also objected to a deal for Colombia to allow an expanded U.S. military presence at its military bases. Chavez and Uribe's successor, President Juan Manuel Santos, have since smoothed over the disputes and pledged to restore trade badly hurt by the diplomatic impasse. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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