ANOTHER BUMP IN A ROCKY ROAD FOR COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA

BOGOTA, Colombia, - When Venezuela played host to a group of
Colombian rebels last week, the overture touched off a nasty dispute
between the two countries. But today they said their leaders would
meet on Friday at the inauguration of Mexico's new president, and try
to resolve the matter.

A Colombian official, calling the dispute the most serious between the
countries in years, said the presidents, Andres Pastrana of Colombia
and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, "are going to see each other in Mexico,
and obviously they'll touch on this."

The official said the two might not be able to resolve the dispute,
but could at least decide when and where to hold further
discussions.

In Caracas, Jose Vicente Rangel, the Venezuelan foreign minister, told
reporters that he was confident that the two men would settle the matter.

On Monday, Venezuela recalled its ambassador to Colombia for
consultations, just three days after Colombia announced that it was
temporarily recalling its ambassador.

Colombia's relations with Venezuela have often been rocky, with
frequent disputes pertaining to their long, isolated and porous
border. But this year, with Colombia trying to force the start of
peace talks in the face of worsening violence by the rebels and other
insurgent groups, Bogota has been particularly sensitive to what it
sees as foreign intervention.

President Chavez, a populist who is critical of United States
influence in Latin America, has antagonized Colombia by criticizing
President Pastrana's multibillion-dollar, American-supported plan to
curtail coca production and guerrilla influence.

There have been persistent reports in the Colombian press that Mr.
Chavez has established a working relationship with the rebels. And
Colombia has complained of incursions by Venezuelan armed forces into
Colombian land and airspace.

But for the Pastrana administration, the final insult came last
Wednesday when Olga Marin =97 daughter of Manuel Marulanda, leader of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC =97 attended, along
with another rebel leader, the Latin American Parliament being held in
Venezuela's legislative chamber. It was not a session of the
Venezuelan assembly, but Colombian officials said Venezuelan lawmakers
had organized the forum.

Ms. Marin, wearing a T-shirt and a baseball cap both marked "FARC,"
attacked the program aimed at reducing coca cultivation as a creation
of Washington's policy makers.

Colombian officials said they were angry at not being informed about
the FARC's attendance at the forum until the day before Ms. Marin
spoke. "It's an aggressive act, a meddling in our internal affairs,"
said Senator Miguel Pinedo.

Mr. Chavez threw one last punch, holding the "Colombian oligarchy"
responsible for the nation's chaos.