Why Venezuela and Colombia have a hot blood between them?

Tense relations between Colombia and Venezuela recently came to the front, when a drone attacked the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro.

Colombian officials have always protested Venezuela's attempts to claim control over a disputed maritime territory. One area in the Gulf of Venezuela has long been a point of dispute between the two countries.

 

 

The two countries were originally united as one nation, called La Gran Colombia.

It was a short-lived union, though, as Simon Bolivar's vision for one united Latin America fell apart due to infighting among member countries. By the early 1800s, Colombia and Venezuela were drifting apart along ideological lines. Making relations more challenging, the King of Spain allocated portions of the Venezuelan gulf to each country, but the dividing line was far from clear.

 

 

The Dispute

Previous Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has accused Venezuela of protecting leftist Colombian guerrillas thought to be hiding in Venezuelan territory. Ex - Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, meanwhile, denied the claims, saying that Colombia is working with the U.S. to portray him as a terrorist sympathizer.

 

 

The Guerrillas

Rebel leaders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This group was once the military wing of the Colombian communist party, and now regularly stages attacks on Colombian military and government targets. It has become famous for its kidnappings of both Colombian and foreign citizens. Colombia says roughly 1,500 FARC rebels are hiding out in Venezuela.

 

 

Reasons for this hot blood relation

At a meeting of American states in Washington, the Colombian ambassador to the U.S. presented reams of evidence of rebel camps within Venezuela, demanding that Colombian officials be allowed access to the sites. Hours later, Chávez announced a suspension of diplomatic relations.

 

A War?

Chávez had warned that his military could be called into action at this latest outrage. "We would go to war with Colombia weeping," he announced, "but we would have to go." However, say Tim Padgett and John Otis in Time, it's not the first time the "famously egomaniacal" Chávez has issued such dire warnings against Colombia. If history is any guide, this latest diplomatic spat won't last long.

 

 

 

Is there an end in sight?

Uribe stepped down as president in August 2010 and was replaced by president-elect Juan Manuel Santos, who "pledged to improve relations" with Chávez during his election campaign.

 

 

Colombia has evolved to become a capitalist society, while Venezuela follows socialism.

One of the major issues between the two is a guerrilla group known as FARC, which is considered a terrorist organization by Colombia, the EU, and the U.S., among others. FARC espouses Marxist-Lenin socialism and is more or less supported by Venezuela as a "people's army."