Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe appeared on Venezuelan television station Globovision in an interview Wednesday, three months after he left the presidency.
Uribe, who had contentious relations with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, refused to comment about his successor’s relationship with the neighboring country’s leader.
“[President Juan Manuel Santos] is responsible for the international relations of the country,” Uribe said. He emphasized Santos’ ability to dictate this own relationship with Chavez, saying, “I cannot set the agenda. Juan Manuel Santos is the director.”
Uribe also refused to speak about how Santos, who was then minister of defense, reacted to the accusation made by Colombia that Venezuela was allowing guerrillas to camp in its territory earlier this year. Chavez broke all ties with Colombia in July, after Colombia made allegations at an Organization of American States meeting that there were 87 guerilla camps across the Venezuelan border. The two countries have since taken steps to restore diplomatic relations, with Santos meeting with Chavez in August and November.
With regards to his own actions in making the accusations against Venezuela, Uribe said they were made based on “facts and not assumptions.”
“Colombian intelligence had new information on the presence of Colombian terrorist groups in Venezuelan territory,” Uribe said. “The decision of our government [to make the accusations] was to eliminate the violence.”
