(BBC) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced trade measures against Colombia, amid a growing diplomatic row between the two nations.
Chavez said he would halt the import of 10,000 cars from Colombia and ban a Colombian energy firm from exploring Venezuela’s oil-rich Orinoco region.
Last week, Chavez recalled his envoy from Bogota over accusations Venezuela had provided arms to Colombian rebels.
He is also angry at plans to allow US troops to use Colombian military bases.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is currently touring South America to try to reassure fellow leaders over the planned accord with Washington to allow US troops to use several bases.
A number of South American nations – including Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia – have expressed concerns over Bogota’s plans.
However, Peru has expressed support for Uribe, while Chile and Paraguay have said the accord is an internal matter for Colombia.
Washington wants use Colombia as a regional hub for operations to counter drug-trafficking and terrorism. The US has been forced to look for a new location after the Ecuadorean government refused to renew the lease on its Manta base that the US military was using.
Speaking at a news conference in Caracas, Chavez said the Venezuelan government would halt the import of 10,000 vehicles from neighbouring Colombia.
He also said Colombia’s Ecopetrol company would be barred from taking part in an auction to develop the heavy crude in Venezuela’s Orinoco region. Chavez went on to say Venezuela would seek to buy “several battalions of Russian tanks” during his visit to Russia in September.
