Colombian President Alvaro Uribe accused Venezuela today of imposing an illegal trade blockade similar to the U.S. embargo on Cuba after his Andean neighbor said Colombia was engaged in "psychological war.", according to Reuters. The criticism was Uribe"s strongest yet since Venezuela and Colombia began sparring several months ago in a dispute that has damaged their $7 billion a year in bilateral trade and heightened fears of a violent clash along their frontier. Chavez, a fierce U.S. critic allied with Cuba, has ordered Colombian imports cut as his government protests Uribe"s plan to allow U.S. troops more access to bases for joint initiatives against cocaine lords and leftist rebels. OPEC-member Venezuela relies heavily on Colombian food products, but Chavez is seeking alternative imports from Brazil and Argentina. "In Venezuela, there is an embargo against the Colombian economy. It is an illegal, unjust embargo," Uribe told local radio. "People criticize the embargo against Cuba, well now there is a Venezuelan blockade against Colombia." Uribe said other nations were taking advantage of the crisis to replace Colombian market share. Exports to Venezuela fell 56 percent in October compared with a year earlier. The latest exchange to test ties between the feuding South American nations came when Colombia said this week that Venezuelan troops had deported more than 400 illegal Colombian and Brazilian miners from makeshift gold camps.
