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Chavez warns Colombian minister Chavez warns Colombian minister
(about 23 hours later)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sharply criticised the Colombian Defence Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, calling him a threat to the region.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sharply criticised the Colombian Defence Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, calling him a threat to the region.
The criticism came after Mr Santos said he would not rule out Colombian forces pursuing left-wing Colombian rebels in neighbouring countries. The criticism came after Mr Santos said he would not rule out Colombian forces pursuing left-wing Colombian rebels into neighbouring countries.
Such a rash and half-witted move, Mr Chavez warned, would prompt a swift military response from Venezuela. President Chavez said that any Colombian incursion into Venezuela would trigger a military response.
A Colombian incursion into Ecuador last year sparked a regional diplomatic row.A Colombian incursion into Ecuador last year sparked a regional diplomatic row.
Not one to mince words - especially in the comfortable surroundings of his weekly radio and television programme - Mr Chavez also described Mr Santos as an enemy of Venezuela's and nothing short of a fascist. The Venezuelan leader said he found it strange that Mr Santos had been allowed to remain in his role after making such remarks.
The Colombian military incursion last year into Ecuador, in which a leading rebel Farc commander was killed, sparked one of the most bitter regional diplomatic rows in many years and led to both Ecuador and Venezuela sending troops to their respective borders with Colombia and a breakdown of diplomatic ties. 'Declared an enemy'
For his part, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has distanced himself from his defence minister's remarks - calling them out of place and imprudent. "Mr Santos, the Minister of Defence of Colombia, has been declared an enemy of Venezuela," said Mr Chavez on his Sunday radio and TV talk show.
However, it is clear the Venezuelan leader is far from satisfied with that response by Mr Uribe. "What Minister Santos has said is a threat to the peace of South America and what he represents, the most fascist current of the Colombian oligarchy."
Speaking before his studio audience, Mr Chavez joked that he found it very strange indeed that Mr Santos had managed to retain his job despite making such incendiary remarks. He added: "One does not understand President [Alvaro] Uribe at times, with all due respect. I don't want to return to the fights of the past, no."
Colombia's incursion into Ecuador triggered a bitter diplomatic row
The remarks which triggered the broadside from Mr Chavez were made by Mr Santos in an interview with a Colombian newspaper.
He argued that Colombia had a right to self-defence that allowed it to attack what Bogota sees as "terrorists systematically attacking the country even if they are not located inside its own territory".
President Uribe has distanced himself from the defence minister's remarks - calling them out of place and imprudent.
But the BBC's Emilio San Pedro says it is clear the Venezuelan leader is far from satisfied with Mr Uribe's response.
Colombia's cross-border raid into Ecuador last March killed a Farc rebel commander and more than 25 other guerrillas.
It caused one of the biggest diplomatic crises in Latin America in years.
Ecuador and Venezuela sent troops to their borders, withdrawing them after a meeting of regional leaders in the Dominican Republic.