CHAIRMAN ENGEL URGES ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES (OAS) TO HELP RESOLVE TENSIONS IN ANDES
  

Washington, D.C.--Today, Congressman Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, sent a letter (attached) calling on Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Permanent Council Chairman Cornelius Smith to send a high-level delegation to the Andean region to negotiate a reduction in tensions between Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The letter – signed by a bipartisan group of 14 House members – also calls on the OAS to put in place a better process of crisis communication between the three governments. Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Ranking Republican Dan Burton and Congressman Gregory Meeks also initiated the letter with Chairman Engel.

“The only way to resolve this crisis is through dialogue and better communication, and the OAS is the best place to start,” said Chairman Engel. “I urge all of the countries affected to exercise maximum restraint and seek diplomatic solutions to the problem, while avoiding steps which could exacerbate an already difficult situation.”
 
According to news reports, this weekend the Colombian army crossed a mile into Ecuador to attack a jungle camp maintained by the FARC guerrilla group and killed its second-ranking leader Raúl Reyes. This move led Ecuador to send troops to its border with Colombia and to withdraw its ambassador from Bogotá. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez also sent tanks and ten battalions to the border with Colombia.

The text of the letter sent to Secretary General Insulza and Ambassador Smith follows:

Dear Secretary General Insulza and Ambassador Smith:

We are writing you to express our concerns about the events that took place this weekend along the Ecuador-Colombia border and the subsequent actions taken by the Venezuelan government along the Venezuela-Colombia border. We do not want to pre-judge what happened, but instead respectfully request that the Organization of American States (OAS) send a high-level diplomatic mission to visit the three countries to gather facts on what happened and to negotiate a reduction of tensions and a better process of crisis communication between the three governments.

According to news reports, the Colombian army crossed a mile into Ecuador to attack a jungle camp maintained by the FARC guerrilla group and killed its second-ranking leader Raúl Reyes. This move led Ecuador to send troops to its border with Colombia and to withdraw its ambassador from Bogotá. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez also sent tanks and ten battalions to the border with Colombia.

As Members of the United States Congress who are concerned about the stability of the politically and economically fragile Andean region, we believe that the OAS is best equipped to deal with this crisis. We also believe that this crisis highlights the need for an inter-American communications and crisis management strategy. Such a mechanism would establish an emergency consultative process when future crises occur in the Andean region or elsewhere.
 
Again, we urge you to act quickly by sending a high-level diplomatic and fact-finding mission to the Andean region as soon as possible. We stand ready to support you as you carry out this crucial task.

Sincerely,

Eliot L. Engel, Chairman, House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere (D-NY)
Dan Burton, Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere (R-IN)
Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
Luis Fortuño (R-PR)
Gene Green (D-TX)
Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Ron Klein (D-FL)
Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)

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