AMERICAS Venezuela’s capture of Colombian “spies”, whom it accuses of being part of a US-backed plot to undermine its socialist government, has escalated a simmering conflict between the neighbouring Andean nations.
Venezuela on Tuesday night arrested two Colombians near the border and alleged they were intelligence agents. Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president known for his staunchly anti-imperialist rhetoric, accused Colombia of using the bloody massacre of an amateur Colombian football team near the border last week as cover to gather military intelligence to destabilise his regime.
