Chavez: Conflict with the US is inevitable

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that "we want peace," but that Colombia and its allies in Washington represent war - and that conflict with the United States is inevitable. "It must be said: They, the empire and its lackeys, are war," Chavez said in a televised speech, his first since Colombia alleged that documents seized from a leftist rebel's computer prove the Venezuelan leader has been supporting the guerrillas for years. "We are the path to peace," said Chavez, who ordered 10 battalions of troops to reinforce the border after Colombia entered Ecuadorean territory to attack a leftist rebel hideout. Chavez spoke as diplomats from many countries struggled to defuse the crisis sparked by the Colombian attack.