[progchat_action] US was "big loser" at Latin American summit
 
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2008 22:33:28 -0600 (CST)


Venezuela's Chavez says US was 'big loser' at Latin American summit

The Associated Press
March 9, 2008

Caracas, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez called the United States the "big
loser" at a meeting of Latin American leaders in the Dominican Republic,
saying Venezuela's allies undermined alleged U.S. efforts to divide the
region.

Chavez praised Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega on Saturday for joining him a day earlier in "standing up" to
Washington at the Rio Group summit.

"Yesterday, there was a big loser: the North American empire," Chavez said
during a televised speech. Correa and Ortega "showed the North American
empire and its pawns that Venezuela is not alone."

U.S. officials were not involved in or invited to Friday's summit in Santo
Domingo, where Latin American leaders agreed to work for a peaceful end to a
crisis sparked by Colombia's March 1 military raid inside Ecuador.

Venezuela and Ecuador both pulled their ambassadors from Colombia and sent
troops to their borders with the Andean nation in response to the
cross-border strike, which killed 25 people including Raul Reyes - a top
commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Venezuelan soldiers will begin withdrawing from the border next week, Chavez
said.

He also urged FARC leader Manuel Marulanda to release Ingrid Betancourt, a
former presidential candidate and dual French-Colombian citizen held captive
for six years.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/09/america/LA-GEN-Venezuela-Colombia.
php

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