( dpa ) - US President George W Bush said Wednesday the recent tension over Colombia's military strike against a FARC rebel camp in Ecuador showed South America must decide between terrorists or leaders who promote democracy.
"The stakes are high in South America," Bush said in a speech to the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gathering in Washington.
The Colombian military launched a raid on Ecuadorian soil March 1 and killed the second in command of the FARC militants, who have been waging civil war in Colombia for decades.
Ecuador and Venezuela quickly dispatched troops to their borders with Colombia, sparking worries of a military conflict until the tension was diplomatically resolved.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who condemned the raid, accused Colombia of being an imperial proxy of the United States, has continued his sharp anti-US rhetoric and advocates recognizing FARC as a political entity.
"As the recent standoff in the Andes shows, the region is facing an increasingly stark choice: to quietly accept the vision of the terrorists and the demagogues, or to actively support democratic leaders" like Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
The United States backs Colombia with military aid in the fight against FARC, which stands for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and considers the group a terrorist organization.
Bush criticized Chavez for defending FARC and for leading his country to economic ruin while squandering its oil wealth to promote an anti-US agenda in the region.
"The regime claims to promote social justice," Bush said, using a term usually reserved for the governments of US foes like Iran, North Korea and Syria. "In truth, its agenda amounts to little more than empty promises and a thirst for power."