Ecuador Wants Apology on FARC; US Backs Bogota

Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is in Brazil today, pushing for an apology from Colombia for its incursion into Ecuador to attack FARC guerrillas Saturday. While most Latin American nations, including Brazil, have condemned the cross-border attack, the White House yesterday unequivocally backed Colombia in the rapidly escalating crisis. Correa heads later today to Caracas to meet with Hugo Chavez who, like Correa, has massed troops on the border with Colombia.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is also expected in Caracas. Meanwhile Colombian president  Alvaro Uribe said he had already apologized to Ecuador; he accused Ecuador of harboring militants and Venezuela of giving the rebels $300 million, Reuters reports. The Organization of American States went into emergency session to defuse escalating tensions.  (More Colombia stories.)