Hugo Chavez chooses hostage talks in Caracas over U.N.

It was a year ago when Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez attended the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), and chose to use his speech to rail against U.S. President George W. Bush. (I.e. Bush was “the devil” and the podium reeked “of sulfur” after Bush’s speech.)

This year Chavez has different priorities in mind and opted not to attend this month’s UNGA. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro will represent the Venezuelan delegation since Chavez his absence was due to “a scheduling conflict”.

In the meantime, the Venezuelan leader has stayed at home to take care of matters such as meeting with the relatives of three U.S. contractors held hostage by Colombian rebels (image). Chavez has volunteered to serve as a mediator between Colombia’s government and rebels, and called for Bush to help with negotiations:

“The government of the United States can help, a lot…There are no political colors or ideologies here. President Bush, I hope he can help us.”

In response to Chavez’ comments, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe- a close ally of Bush- said that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice approved the possible involvement of a group of U.S. congressmen in the mediation.

On Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that Chavez will visit the European country in November in order to discuss the hostage situation. Sarkozy himself has become involved in mediation, particularly due to the over five years in captivity of Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, AFP, CNN, People’s Daily Online, Reuters, Expatica France

Image- Prensa Latina