AMBASSADOR YANKED AFTER REBEL ADDRESSES VENEZUELA LEGISLATORS

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA Colombia has recalled its ambassador to Venezuela
"for consultation." Friday's move came two days after a Colombian
guerrilla leader gave a speech on the floor of Venezuela's National
Assembly.

The decision reflects rising friction between the two Andean countries
over Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's alleged sympathy for Colombian
insurgents and his criticism of Plan Colombia, a U.S.-backed anti-drug
program being carried out by Colombian President Andres Pastrana.

Colombia's Foreign Ministry said it was recalling Ambassador German
Bula in order to "evaluate the current state of relations between the
two countries."

The left-leaning Chavez has said Pastrana's plan, backed by $1.3
billion in mostly military assistance from the United States, will
drive refugees, guerrillas and drug traffickers into his and other
neighboring countries.

On Wednesday, Olga Marin, a spokeswoman for the leftist Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, addressed a daylong forum about
Plan Colombia held on the floor of Venezuela's National Assembly.

The forum was part of a meeting of a Latin America-wide parliamentary
group. It was not an official session of Venezuela's
legislature.

Chavez maintains he is neutral in Colombia's fighting, although a
former intelligence chief accused him this year of funneling arms to
the FARC.

On Friday, a senior FARC commander rejected allegations by Mexico's
attorney general that the rebels traded cocaine to a powerful Mexican
drug cartel in return for cash and weapons.