(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-08 09:58

Chavez then invited in the mother of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt — the highest-profile hostage held by the FARC — and urged Uribe to allow a multinational group into Colombia to negotiated a hostage release.

The Venezuelan government later released videos of Colombian troops among the hundreds of people believed held hostage by the FARC, saying it had received "proofs-of-life" of 10 captive soldiers. Speaking into the camera, the captives urged the region's leaders to "please intervene" to support talks on swapping the rebels' hostages for imprisoned guerrillas.

The U.S. military's Southern Command has declined to comment on claims by Chavez that the U.S. planned, directed and participated in the cross-border attack.

Washington has given billions of dollars in military aid to Colombia and U.S. special forces train Colombian troops, but U.S. soldiers are barred by U.S. law from participating in combat operations and can fire only to defend themselves.

One of the few leaders offering support to Uribe was Salvadoran President Tony Saca, who said before the meeting that "Colombia has the legitimate right to go after terrorists ... wherever they may be, of course without harming the sovereignty of another country."

Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, accused the United States of dividing a peaceful Latin America. He said that over the decades, false labels such as "communist" and "drug trafficker," and since the Sept. 11 attack, "terrorist," have ruined lives and justified wars across the region.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon made a similar point, without criticizing the U.S., saying that such labels are counterproductive. He advised his fellow leaders to "leave aside the adjectives" and work to improve the lives of Latin Americans.

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