The secretary general to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Nestor Kirchner, will meet with the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela in August, in a bid to mediate the diplomatic feud between the two nations.
The former Argentine president will meet with Chavez in Caracas on August 5, before flying to Colombia to meet with outgoing Colombian President Avaro Uribe and Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos.
During his visit to Colombia, Kirchner will also attend Santos’ inauguration on August 7.
EFE reports that Kirchner has been in telephone contact with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Brazilian President Ignacio Lula da Silva, regarding the deteriorating relations between Venezuela and Colombia.
Lula will work with Correa, who is currently presiding president of UNASUR, to mediate the conflict, which bubbled over Thursday.
Venezuela broke all relations with Colombia Thursday morning, after Colombia’s ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Alfonso Hoyos, presented evidence to the international body of the presence of 87 guerrilla camps in Venezuelan territory.
Colombia is now considering whether to take evidence of numerous FARC and ELN camps in Venenzuela to the International Criminal Court (ICC), given that the guerrillas commit crimes against humanity and then seek refuge over the border.
Colombia and Venezuela have a long history of strained relations. Colombia has hinted in the past that it suspects Venezuela of harboring left-wing wing guerrillas, while Venezuela has complained of the spillover of Colombia’s lengthy conflict into its borders.
Relations between the neighbor nations were frozen in 2009, after Colombia signed a controversial military pact, which grants the U.S. access to seven military bases around Colombia. The socialist Chavez administration views the pact as a threat to regional sovereignty.
