Israel of Latin America ?

President Chavez freezes ties with Colombia, withdrawing its ambassador from Bogotá and halting trade deals. Venezuela, he said, would also substitute imports from Colombia - which currently account for about a third of the country's trade - with goods from other countries, notably Brazil and Ecuador. The announcement came a day after the Colombia government said weapons bought by Venezuela from Sweden in the 1980s had ended up with Colombian guerrillas. The Colombian government said its troops had recovered Swedish anti-tank weapons in a raid on a camp run by the Farc. Mr Chavez, denying that Venezuela armed "any guerrilla group or armed group", accused Mr Uribe of behaving irresponsibly with his "unfounded" accusations.

But there is something else -

The dispute between the two neighbours comes as Colombia prepares to allow the US to use four of its military bases, a move which has angered Venezuela. Colombia says the accord will give the US military access to air bases to gather intelligence and support operations against drugs production and terrorism. But Mr Chavez says it is part of an effort by Washington to turn Colombia into the "Israel of Latin America".

....cirque du soleil?