Ecuador man's death in FARC raid strains ties with Colombia
1:00 AM
Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Ecuador's defense minister said Monday that the death of an Ecuadorean citizen in a cross-border military raid on a Colombian guerrilla camp would further strain relations with its Andean neighbor.
Attorney General Alfredo Alvear announced that fingerprint tests confirmed that a body, brought from the jungle camp to Bogota along with slain rebel leader Raul Reyes, belonged to Ecuadorean locksmith Franklin Aisalla.
"The issue has become more difficult," Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval told reporters in Quito following Aisalla's identification.
His Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, earlier said he hoped Aisalla's death would not harm relations -- despite a weekend threat by Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa to launch a new "diplomatic struggle" against Colombia if Aisalla's identity was confirmed.
Santos told Bogota's Caracol radio that he did not understand "why a country like Ecuador would cause problems over the death of someone with links to the FARC," as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is known.
"Anyone who is in a terrorist camp is taking a very high risk, because it's a legitimate military target," he said in the interview.
Correa broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia over the March 1 raid, which killed top rebel commander Reyes and 24 others, including four visiting Mexican university students.
Ecuador and Venezuela mobilized troops to their borders, but pulled them back after a testy meeting of regional leaders in the Dominican Republic on March 7.
On Monday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned Colombian officials to watch their words or risk a new diplomatic flare-up, accusing Santos of rekindling tensions with Ecuador.
"For the love of God," Chavez said, directing his advice at Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, "take good care with spokesmen of war like your defense minister."
Ecuadorean police have begun an investigation to determine why Aisalla was in the rebel camp.
Attorney General Alfredo Alvear announced that fingerprint tests confirmed that a body, brought from the jungle camp to Bogota along with slain rebel leader Raul Reyes, belonged to Ecuadorean locksmith Franklin Aisalla.
"The issue has become more difficult," Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval told reporters in Quito following Aisalla's identification.
His Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, earlier said he hoped Aisalla's death would not harm relations -- despite a weekend threat by Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa to launch a new "diplomatic struggle" against Colombia if Aisalla's identity was confirmed.
Santos told Bogota's Caracol radio that he did not understand "why a country like Ecuador would cause problems over the death of someone with links to the FARC," as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is known.
"Anyone who is in a terrorist camp is taking a very high risk, because it's a legitimate military target," he said in the interview.
Correa broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia over the March 1 raid, which killed top rebel commander Reyes and 24 others, including four visiting Mexican university students.
Ecuador and Venezuela mobilized troops to their borders, but pulled them back after a testy meeting of regional leaders in the Dominican Republic on March 7.
On Monday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned Colombian officials to watch their words or risk a new diplomatic flare-up, accusing Santos of rekindling tensions with Ecuador.
"For the love of God," Chavez said, directing his advice at Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, "take good care with spokesmen of war like your defense minister."
Ecuadorean police have begun an investigation to determine why Aisalla was in the rebel camp.
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