Política versus comercio
The Economist () Politics versus trade

BUSINESS is slack at José Nelson Uribe’s tiny grocery store in San Antonio del Táchira, just a stone’s throw from Venezuela’s border with Colombia. “I’m not selling even a quarter of what I sold before,” says Mr Uribe. His woes are a result of the political conflict between his namesake, Colombia’s president, Álvaro Uribe, and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. “Before” means before July 28th, when Mr Chávez declared a “freeze” on diplomatic ties and said he would seek alternatives to Colombian goods. This was officially a response to an agreement formalising American use of seven Colombian bases for anti-drug operations, but it also coincided with questions as to how anti-tank rocket-launchers sold by Sweden to the Venezuelan army ended up in a camp belonging to the FARC guerrillas in Colombia. It is not the first time that Mr Chávez has threatened trade sanctions, but this time he seems serious. ver>>


Zapatero quiere mediar entre Colombia y Venezuela
El nacional (Venezuela) Zapatero ofrece a Chávez facilitar el diálogo entre Colombia y Venezuela

El jefe del Ejecutivo español, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, ofreció este viernes al presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, la ayuda de España para propiciar el diálogo entre Colombia y Venezuela.
El Gobierno español informó en un comunicado del ofrecimiento realizado por Zapatero, que reiteró su disponibilidad a "colaborar en todo lo que se solicite a España para el diálogo entre Colombia y Venezuela".
En el apartado bilateral, constataron el "buen estado" que atraviesan las relaciones entre España y Venezuela, según el comunicado del Ejecutivo español. ver>>


Colombia enfrenta el legado del señor de las drogas: los hipopótamos
The New York Times (EE.UU.) Colombia Confronts Drug Lord’s Legacy: Hippos

Even in Colombia, a country known for its paramilitary death squads, this hunting party stood out: more than a dozen soldiers from a Colombian Army battalion, two Porsche salesmen armed with long-range rifles, their assistant, and a taxidermist.
They stalked Pepe through the backlands of Colombia for three days in June before executing him in a clearing about 60 miles from here with shots to his head and heart. But after a snapshot emerged of soldiers posing over his carcass, the group suddenly found itself on the defensive. ver>>