Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who for years has had tense relations with neighbouring Colombia, has warned of worse ties and even possible military hostilities if Bogota's ex-defence chief Juan Manuel Santos wins the presidency.A victory by Santos in the May 30 presidential election could lead to war in the region, said Chavez on his Hello Mr. President weekly television and radio broadcast. The firebrand leftist leader also demanded that the conservative candidate, a close political ally of current president Alvaro Uribe, issue an apology for a Colombian military attack during his tenure as defence minister on a leftist guerrilla encampment on Colombia's border with Ecuador two years ago. If he wants to be president, he should start by saying 'I'm sorry,' and ask forgiveness for the bombing raid, Chavez said. For his part, Santos, whose family owns the El Tiempo daily, Colombia's most influential newspaper, told in an interview Sunday that Chavez should butt out of Colombia's election campaign. What the Colombian people do not accept is interference in their elections, he said. He added that he and Chavez think very differently but we each have one obligation vis a vis our people. And that is to respect our differences. Under Colombian law, Uribe, who already has served two terms, cannot stand for reelection. His would-be successor Santos is accused by Ecuador and Venezuela of having carried out a March 2008 air raid on the clandestine militant encampment that killed the number two official of the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Raul Reyes. Colombia is the top regional ally of the United States in the fight against drug-trafficking, and attempts to contain the influence of the leftist-populist Chavez.
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