Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held hostage by the marxist guerrilla known as FARC, acknowledged shortly after her liberation by the Colombia army the importance of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez mediation in the fratricide conflict and his work for the liberation of the remaining hostages held by FARC. At the same time she stated that any such collaboration should always be offered respecting the democratic will of the Colombian People.

In order to dispel any doubts in that regard, Betancourt reminded Hugo Chávez that the Colombian people elected Álvaro Uribe Vélez, they did not elect FARC.

Betancourt's message for Hugo Chávez is quite clear and simple: Don't try to dictate the terms by which you want to help reach a peaceful solution to the decades old armed conflict or the liberation of the FARC hostages. It's a matter of elementary logic, for a mediator cannot be a positive element in his job if one of the parties to conflict believes he's trying to impose the conditions and is acting biased in favor of one of them.

By the way, if you read the note from the official Bolivarian News Agency (in spanish) about Betancourt's declaration you would never know about this part of her words. Why would that be?

 Venezuela, Politics