Timeline of the Colombia-Venezuela Conflict
July: News of a military deal between Colombia and the United States is made public. The deal will allow the U.S. access to seven Colombian military bases. At this point details of the agreement are not yet available to the public. The deal creates tension throughout Latin America, especially between Venezuela and Colombia. Like many other leaders in the region, Chávez was angered by not being consulted before the announcement of the deal. Moreover, the deal represents a threat to Venezuelan sovereignty and he fears a U.S. led invasion. October 2 2009: Venezuela arrests three DAS agents charged with spying for Colombia. Colombian DAS Director Felipe Munoz says "We're waiting to see what this is about because officially there are no DAS officials in Venezuela carrying out any activities." October 24 2009: The bodies of 11 young men are found, including nine undocumented Colombians, in the Western Venezuelan state of Táchira. The young men were kidnapped by a group of heavily armed men in pickup trucks while while playing soccer in a town four hours from the Colombian border. Venezuelan government and Colombian opposition believe that their deaths were the result of a clash between paramilitary groups from Colombia. Venezuelan opposition asserts that Chávez is only interested in rooting out the right-wing paramilitaries, and is actually aiding the guerrillas. In response to the violence, the Venezuelan government restricts trade and other economic activities with Colombia. November 2 2009: Two Venezuelan National Guardsmen are murdered. Colombia expels a Venezuelan National Guardsman. In response Venezuela closes two international bridges between Colombia and Venezuela, as Venezuelan authorities search for the suspects, creating mass confusion for residents. November 4 2009: Venezuela announces the deployment of 15,000 troops to the two countries' common (1,375-mile) border. President Chávez also shuts down several border crossings, and threatens to shut down more. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Maduro says that the violence along the border is part of a U.S. and Colombian plot to destabilize Venezuela. November 9 2009: President Hugo Chávez' rhetoric becomes increasingly inflammatory. He announces on Venezuelan television, "Let's not waste a day on our main aim: to prepare for war and to heLp the people prepare for war, because it is everyone's responsibility." He also orders 15,000 troops to the border, citing increased violence by Colombian paramilitary groups. In response, President Uribe states, "Colombia has not made nor will it make any bellicose move toward the international community, even less so toward fellow Latin American nations." Colombia also responds with a letter to the U.N. Security Council, "explaining in detail concerns Colombia has about remarks by President Chávez and other sensitive matters." November 19 2009: Venezuela blows up two pedestrian bridges on its border with Colombia. Venezuela argues that the bridges were being used by narcotraffickers and guerrillas. However, while the bridges were not major structures, they were important to the people that used them. See this video news report from Caracol showing interviews with local residents and the mayor of the town. Colombia's Defense Minister Gabriel Silva says Álvaro it will lodge a complaint with United Nations and the Organization of American States over the "aggression." December 1 2009: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez expels over 400 illegal Colombian and Brazilian miners, creating chaos in the small border town of Puerto Inirida, Colombia. According to the governor of Guainía, many of the miners arrived malnourished, having walked two or three days through the mountains, running from the Venezuelan Guards, and are staying with friends. Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva says "We're going to report this sort of forced displacement to international human rights authorities because it violates international humanitarian rights." Most recently, Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández has agreed to serve as mediator, after Colombian President Uribe asked him to do so in a private meeting during the Ibero-American Summit, which ended last week in Estoril, Portugal. President Fernandez stated that his country "because of its geographical and friendship with its neighbors, has on other occasions mediated in regional conflicts to see solutions to these differences."