Bogota: Colombian president on Friday remarked that he had repeatedly asked Ecuador to deal with Colombian rebels operating from its territory before he ordered the cross-border raid that has set off an international crisis.

The fallout is mounting: Venezuela threatened to slash trade and nationalize Colombian-owned businesses.

Venezuela and Ecuador have sent troops to their borders with Colombia. And yesterday, Nicaragua broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia.

Latin American foreign ministers met in the Dominican Republican in hopes of finding a way to calm the region s tensest flare-up in years, and the presidents of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and at least nine other nations were flying in to join them.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived late yesterday in Santo Domingo and called the dispute with Colombia an international problem that threatens the region.

"Let's choose between two paths - war or peace," Chavez said in comments carried on Venezuela state television. "Lamentably what the Colombian government wants is war. ... Our proposal is for us to search for paths of peace."

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told reporters in the Dominican capital that he wants Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to apologise for the attack, as well as his "formal and firm commitment" that Colombia will never "violate" the sovereignty of another country.

Uribe's defense of the raid came during a three-hour session with news media representatives on Wednesday night but his office did not authorize release of his comments until yesterday.
Source : PTI