Colombia nervous as Chávez buys weapons [View All]

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http://news.ft.com/cms/s/caf2767e-423f-11d9-8e3c-00000e2511c8.html

Colombia nervous as Chávez buys weapons
By Andy Webb-Vidal

Concerns are growing in Colombia over what is being seen as a creeping military threat from neighbouring Venezuela, as the government of President Hugo Chávez steps up an arms procurement programme.

Colombian legislators have summoned President Alvaro Uribe's defence and foreign ministers to appear before Congress in the next few days to be questioned about the risks to the country posed by Venezuela's armaments build-up.

At the end of a visit to Moscow last weekend, Mr Chávez said his government would take delivery of 40 helicopters from Russia, and he had agreed to buy 100,000 semi-automatic rifles.

The move is expected to be followed by Venezuela's acquisition of a fleet of the most advanced model of the Mig-29 fighter jet. Reports in recent weeks suggest Mr Chávez wants to buy as many as 50 Mig-29 SMT warplanes.

Venezuela's arms build-up is of concern to the rightwing Mr Uribe and his armed forces, who are engaged in a campaign to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the country's largest insurgent army.

The Colombian army is strongly supported by the US and its troops are vastly more battle-hardened than those of Venezuela. However, the Colombian army would be loath to divert valuable resources away from its counter-insurgency campaign towards stepping up national defence in the face of a perceived threat from Venezuela.