VHeadline News Editor Patrick J. O'Donoghue reports: While President Chavez has been very much in the news because of his diplomatic offensive to have Manuel Zelaya restored as the legitimate President of Honduras, his Colombian counterpart, President Alvaro Uribe has been engaged in an important diplomatic initiative in the USA.

Addressing the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Uribe has attacked intervention in sovereign countries, stating that the principle of non-intervention in the affairs of other countries should be applied in all cases and not a matter of picking and choosing. Despite Colombia abiding by the dictates of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Honduras, the statement would appear to indicate veiled support for that country's de facto government and a rejection of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' role in the crisis.

"When the principal of no-intervention is violated, it creates enormous political difficulties in the country intervened ... respect for democratic principles and the democratic determination of each people must be respected."

During his visit to the USA, Uribe met US President Obama and one of the main topics on the agenda was the free trade treaty that has been put on ice by the US Congress because of Colombia's human rights record. Uribe says he found President Obama much more "disposed, defined and interested" in the topic than any analyst before the meeting could have suggested.

Although Uribe has made exports to the US and offers to foreign investors key targets in the short term, he insists that the free trade treaty is a necessary complement to Colombia's security policy, especially regarding substitution of coca leaf for other agricultural products.

The Colombian President has reacted strongly to an arrest warrant issued by an Ecuadorian judge against former Defense Minister and possible presidential candidate, Juan Manuel Santos calling it a threat against Colombia. Speaking to journalists on his return from the USA, Uribe says the measure an affront against the right of Colombians to recover security and says Ecuador has no jurisdiction to act against a former state official.

"We will not allow the political war that terrorism is promoting inside and outside of Colombia to continue creating impunity for terrorists."

Patrick J. O'Donoghue
news.editor@vheadline.com