Leaders Repair Colombia-Venezuela Ties - by Simon Romero - The New York Times

New York Times, by Simon Romero, Lima, 10/08/2010, excerpt/extracto.-
Colombia’s new president, Juan Manuel Santos, and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, moved on Tuesday to repair diplomatic relations after ties had sharply deteriorated in recent weeks over assertions by Colombia’s government that Colombian guerrillas were operating from Venezuelan soil. Their meeting in Santa Marta, a city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, represented an unexpected reconciliation between the men, who are on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. They had often traded insults with each other before Mr. Santos was elected president in June. On Tuesday, both men adopted a different tone, in recognition of the damage to the economies of both countries caused by the escalating tension. Trade between Colombia and Venezuela plunged more than 30 percent in 2009 from the previous year, after Venezuela imposed restrictions on Colombian imports. The meeting’s modest results included an agreement to send ambassadors to each other’s capitals, improve military patrols along their border and determine how Venezuela would pay about $800 million in debts to Colombian companies.