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Ecuador's president blasts Colombia

Other News Materials 4 March 2008 02:54 (UTC +04:00)

( AP )- Ecuador's president on Monday said he would take "stronger measures" against Colombia after a military incursion into Ecuador killed a senior rebel leader and 16 other guerrillas.

President Rafael Correa also denied allegations from a Colombia official that documents on a laptop computer taken from the slain rebel suggest Correa is deepening relations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group. The seized computer also contained documents that suggest Venezuela recently paid $300 million to FARC, Colombia's police chief said.

"We are before an extremely serious situation ... a foul and lying government that doesn't want peace," Correa said in a news conference, referring to the Colombian government.

The Colombian commando raid that killed Raul Reyes and 16 other rebels Saturday has infuriated Correa and his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez has called Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe a "mob boss" and a "liar." Correa has mobilized thousands of Ecuadorean troops toward the border.

Ecuador's president said his government "will take stronger measures in the coming hours" against Colombia.

On Sunday, Correa recalled Ecuador's ambassador out of Colombia and expelled Colombia's top diplomat from Quito.

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