Significance

The presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Spain have concluded a summit in Venezuela focusing on security issues and regional co-operation.

Implications

The summit was a success for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, providing him with much-needed international support in the face of harsh criticism from the US.

Outlook

Colombia and Venezuela look set to go some way towards shoring up relations after their serious dispute earlier this year. The summit also underlines the growing co-operation between the governments of Latin America's 'new left'.

The security-focused summit brought together the left-of-centre leaders of Venezuela, Brazil and Spain, together with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. All three of the Latin American nations face problems of poverty and development, as well as drug trafficking. Colombia and Venezuela also face the problem of left-wing rebel activity in Colombia.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe announced during the summit that he could no longer fight the rebels in his country alone and asked for more co-operation. Late last year a spat broke out between Venezuela and Colombia after the latter paid bounty hunters to seize a leading Colombian rebel on Venezuelan soil. Rodrigo Granda, the so-called 'foreign minister' of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was seized by members of the Venezuelan police - and some say US officials - in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on 13 December 2004. He turned up in custody in Colombia two days later. Colombian Defence Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe subsequently confirmed that his country had paid bounty hunters to transfer Granda from Caracas to Colombia, sparking an intense diplomatic stand-off . The incident underlined the tensions between President Uribe, who has taken a hard line against leftist rebels in Colombia, and Chavez, who stands accused of providing tacit assistance to guerrillas, who are known to cross into Venezuelan territory, seemingly with impunity. The two governments have since drawn a line under the dispute and have declared their commitment to work together in the future to combat the threat of narco-terrorism. Yesterday's summit seems to mark another step along the road towards finding a workable modus vivendi.

At the same time Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced his support Chavez, who has come in for stiff criticism from Washington for 'destabilising' the region with his fiery rhetoric and the purchase of Russian arms. Chavez recently struck a deal that will see Russia supply the South American nation with 100,000 AK-47 automatic rifles and 40 helicopters. The deal has been strongly criticised by the US, which has been long opposed to Chavez. Washington has repeatedly stated that the deal could threaten the region's stability, and that the weapons could fall into the hands of criminals or the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement. Throughout, Venezuela has shrugged off the US criticism, and has insisted that it is merely replacing out-of-date equipment. For its part, the Russian defence sector has branded the remarks of the US government as an attempt to remove Russia from the international arms market. Relations between Venezuela and the US have deteriorated significantly over recent months. Since Chavez won August 2004's recall referendum on his rule, he has stepped up his anti-US rhetoric, accusing the administration of President George W. Bush of seeking to assassinate him . Lula, however, leapt to Chavez's defence yesterday, stating, 'We do not accept defamatory remarks or insinuations about an ally. Venezuela has the right to remain a sovereign nation, to make its own decisions.'

Represented yesterday by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain is also looking to conclude an arms deal with Venezuela. The Spanish deal, thought to involve ships and transport planes worth up to US$1.7 billion, has been met with consternation not only by the US, but also by conservative opposition politicians in Spain, who have labelled the plan a 'monstrous error'. The deal is expected to be signed later today. Spain's political elite has long been split over Chavez's Venezuela. The advent of Zapatero's left-wing government has brought with it much warmer relations than existed under the previous conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Outlook and Implications

The summit marks the continuation of a period of rapprochement between Venezuela and Colombia after the recent spat between the two countries. Although it is too early to tell, this process could lead to real security co-operation between the two sides. It is also a boost for Venezuela which finds itself at loggerheads with the US. The support of fellow leftist President Lula in Brazil will be welcomed by Chavez, underlining as it does the increasing level of co-operation between Latin America's 'new left', consisting of Argentina's President Néstor Kirchner, Brazil's Lula, Venezuela's Chavez, Chile's President Ricardo Lagos and Uruguay's President Tabaré Vázquez. Spain's stance, too, provides the Chavez regime with much-needed international support, which will no doubt raise eyebrows in Washington.