In a bid to appear placid and reasonable in the face Chavez’s recent warnings of war, the Colombian president chose to send four captured Venezuelan soldiers home on Saturday.  He sent them with a message, in his words: “…that here we feel affection for our brother nation of Venezuela, and this affection is unbreakable.”  This is only a day after the National Guardsmen were arrested at a checkpoint on the wrong side of the Meta River, wearing civilian garb but with their uniforms packed in the bottom of their small boat, according to Colombian daily El País. 67YVZEDEGQ5R

The border incident occurred on the dusty plains south of the Andes, South American cattle country, in the Colombian state of Vichada which declares itself “A Man’s Land for Men Without Land.”  The state capital Puerto Carreño sits at the joining of the Meta River with the mighty Orinoco, about 100 kilometers downstream.  Given the way the Venezuelans were detained, in civvies in a small boat on a shared river, it is hard to guess what they were really doing.  Perhaps they were just trying to reach the next town.  Maybe they were planning on fishing—the Vichada government website has photos of its citizens holding up some real monster river fish.

Whatever the cause of the guardsmen’s snafu, Uribe has taken the opportunity to show some goodwill at a time of heightened tension.  At the end of October Colombia signed a deal to open seven of its bases to US troops, a decision which Chavez said clashes with his country’s desire for the “peace and independence of all countries”.  Last week Chavez announced that he would mobilize his country for war in a new “Venezuela Defense Plan”, insinuating that the increased US presence was a preparation to invade Venezuela.  This is probably not the case, and nobody is predicting war; but Chavez does not want more Yankee troops around no matter what they are up to, and will pressure Colombia however he can.  Colombian authorities, for their part, insist the US forces will just be looking for drugs and rebels.