Chavez says destruction of walking bridges to Colombia 'routine'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Chavez says destruction of walking bridges to Colombia 'routine'
Posted : Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:04:13 GMT
By : dpa

Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the destruction of "illegal" pedestrian bridges at the border with Colombia was "routine," and said the government would continue to eliminate them. Chavez said Saturday that the military had destroyed two bridges in the state of Tachira because they were used by traffickers of narcotics and other contraband.

He accused Bogota of mounting a "media operation to paint us as the aggressors - a strategy used by the Colombian oligarchy" with the help the press.

"The destucion of those illegal bridges is routine," he said during an international conference of leftist political parties. "We will continue to destroy the clandestine routes and laboratories for processing drugs that come from Colombia."

Chavez dismissed Colombia's protests to international agencies alleging that the destruction of the bridges was a grave offence during heightened tensions between the neighbouring countries.

He said the destroyed structures were pedestrian bridges, in spite of Colombia's attempts to compare them to the iconic Golden Gate in the United States. "For years we have been dismantling illegal passages, neutralizing them, in many areas, not only over a river but also under the river," Chavez said.

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/295640,chavez-s...

[rpannier]

1. Not sure why there's such a fuss

The bridges are in Venezuela.
It's a strictly internal matter.
If they were in Colombia it would be another matter

[Union Yes]

2. How can 'Murikkka enslave SA as long as them dang lefties like Hugo keep messin things up?

Perhaps more CIA death squads or maybe we should open a second School of the Americas.

[WriteDown]

3. Same as us destroying tunnels on the Mexican border....

Hugo has every right to do this.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

7. True. The issue with this is the conflicting reports about where Venezuelan troops set foot

If they did this from the Venezuelan side, more power to them. If they crossed into Colombia, that's another matter.

[AlphaCentauri]

8. If they crossed into Colombia it wouldn't be an issue either

Colombia's army has done it in Ecuador and Brazil

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

11. It would still be an issue, though not as grave of one as it would be if there were no history

of such things between each of these nations. Tensions are already heightened thus making what might otherwise be dismissed as simply obnoxious a more serious issue.

[ChangoLoa]

16. It was an issue when Colombia crossed into Ecuador... for obvious and legitimate reasons

It even was an issue for Venezuela. Chavez ordered to move 15 battalions of he army that time, during Alo Presidente, remember?

[AlphaCentauri]

4. That makes thing clear now

The media in the US will not show Chavez saying it

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

6. Probably not, but then again, the media in the U.S. wasn't covering this

story much to begin with.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. The media won't bother showing both sides of the story

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

12. Most of the U.S. media hasn't bothered showing even one side of this story.

Generally, this is not the type of thing that interests American readers.

[AlphaCentauri]

13. But the state department use it to dictate polices

it should be of interest for the tax payer to see clearly where it's government stands.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

15. Agreed.

[fascisthunter]

5. efforts by the right to smear Chavez and Venezuela as well as democratic socialism

are ridiculous

[EFerrari]

10. They compared them to the GG Bridge?!

LOL

Now I have to go back to that thread and search for the defenders of illegal border crossing. If I'm not mistaken, they are the same rabidly anti illegal US immigration posters. Fun.

[AlphaCentauri]

14. They probably grow up from the same root n/t