Regional defence council launches amid renewed tension
The Defence Council of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) was launched this week in Santiago de Chile. The timing of the launch was significant. Just over one year ago, a cross-border incursion by Colombian troops to destroy an encampment of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) in Ecuador sparked a diplomatic crisis with Ecuador and Venezuela. Tension is still running high, and there is no immediate prospect of Ecuador restoring diplomatic relations with Colombia. Injudicious remarks by Colombia's defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos, last week prompted a disproportionate response from Ecuador's President Rafael Correa and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez .
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