ARTICLE: "Chavez Lets Colombian Rebels Wield Power Inside Venezuela," by Jose de Cordoba, Wall Street Journal, 25 November 2008.

Chavez, in his continuing effort to meddle in Colombia, seems to be importing its problems--either advertently or inadvertently. Either way, he's asking for trouble. FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) may be losing big-time in Colombia, with the upside being that it's retreating across the border into Venezuela, where apparently Chavez is giving the FARC enough free rein to set up its own political control over villages and start using Venezuelan land for growing cocaine (exports are up 5-fold from 2002 through 2007). Smaller version of same is happening with Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN). So whether you want to call it mini-states being set up within Venezuela or these groups enjoying safe haven, either way, you're asking for a cross-border war with the U.S. clearly backing Colombia. But the real hypocrisy here is the ultra-nationalist Chavez subletting chunks of his territory to druggie bandits whom he lets terrorize his own people.