The Organization of American States (OAS) failed to reach an agreement on the diplomatic crisis sparked by a Colombian raid on Ecuadorian soil, with the parties holding irreconcilable positions on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, a 10-hour emergency meeting in Washington was suspended without an agreement. Conflict parties continued to exchange accusations, as Ecuador and Venezuela further increased the troop strength along their borders with Colombia. ( dpa )
In Brazil, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe a "psychopath," a day after describing him as the head of a "rogue government."
The long, tense OAS meeting in Washington Tuesday saw the various positions clash over the attack by the Colombian military that killed Raul Reyes, the number-two of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and 20 other rebels on Ecuadorian soil on Saturday.
Colombia accused Ecuador and Venezuela of supporting "FARC terrorists" and stressed its right to self-defence.
The representatives of Ecuador, Venezuela and other Latin American countries like Nicaragua, Bolivia and Argentina demanded a condemnation of the "violation of the sovereignty" of Ecuador committed according to them by Colombia.
But the organization only found agreement on creating an investigative commission.
Colombia had strong backing from the United States. US President George W Bush Tuesday expressed his country's support for Uribe and praised his efforts against terrorism, stressing that Colombia could count on the assistance of the United States against Venezuela's "provocative" manoeuvres.
The Colombian Air Force used cluster bombs to attack the Colombian rebel camp on Ecuadorian soil Saturday. Following the bombing, Colombian ground troops entered Ecuador to recover Reyes' dead body and the rebels' computers, among other things.
Ecuador and Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Colombia and sent extra troops to their borders with that country. Venezuela also closed the border to trade.
FARC, founded in 1964, is the oldest and largest rebel group in Colombia, with some 10,000 fighters, and it has been fighting the Colombian state for over 40 years.