A recent raid by the Colombian army violated the sovereignty of Ecuador. First, the Colombian army conducted an air strike into Ecuadorean territory, attacking a FARC camp, then it sent ground troops to identify and remove the corpse of Raul Reyes, the FARC's no. 2 leader.
Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela both condemned the move, severed diplomatic ties, and rushed army units to their respective shared borders with Colombia.
Colombia reacted by not reacting, a rational move for two reasons; Chavez and Correa acted rashly to a situation that had its solution in diplomatic offices, not battlefields; and Colombia would face a three-headed beast at the border — the Venezuelan army, the Ecuadorian army, and the FARC.
That they would all act in concert seems assured at this point; today Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian army described evidence that shows the governments of Ecuador and Venezuela actively supported the FARC, including the transfer of large sums of money between Chavez and the revolutionary group. As such, Uribe plans on bringing Chavez before the Hague on charges of assisting genocide.
This is not the first intuition that Chavez is actively helping the FARC.

The FARC use Russian made AK-47 rifles, which requires hard-to-acquire ammuntion. As such, the FARC consistently face ammunition shortages. When it came time to replace the Venezuelan military's equipment, Chavez declined the rifles suggested by studies, which use a .51 caliber bullet. Instead, he went for rifles that use .39 mm caliber bullets, the size compatible with FARC rifles.
Chavez' motives in helping the FARC aren't entirely clear at this moment. Some critics say it is just one terrorist helping another. But such simple and unsubstantiated conclusions are worth very little. There are several more carefully reasoned explanations.
The first is that the shared ideology of Chavez and the Marxist FARC make them natural allies. The aim of the Bolivarian Revolution is an integrated Latin America, working as one against the hegemony of imperial world powers, raising the status of all Latin Americans in the process. The Colombian governments' close ties with Washington are an impediment to that political design. Since the FARC is an enemy of the Colombia government, fighting under a similar banner of unification, they have received his nominal support in the past. Chavez has repeatedly urged foreign governments to view the FARC as actors in a civil war, and not as the narcoterrorist group they've been branded.
Second, there is the possibility that Chavez is sincere when he accuses Colombia of planning to invade Venezuela as a U.S. proxy. The Colombian army's recent foray into Ecuador shows that their fight against the FARC transcends borders, and allegations that Chavez is allowing the FARC to freely cross the largely unguarded border shared by Venezuela and Colombia might be all the incentive Colombia needed. Now that they have more evidence of collaboration between FARC and its neighboring governments, Chavez has more to fear (which explains, in part, the rushing of tanks to the border).
Third, and this one is based on speculation, Chavez views the FARC as an insurance policy. In case the official Venezuelan military turns on their leader, the FARC would serve as a trained militia at Chavez' disposal. Venezuela's long tradition of military coups, and increasing criticism of his policies, serve as a warning.
Regardless of Chavez' motivations for helping the FARC, this situation is going to get messier before it gets better. The tangled political knot not only pits Ecuador and Venezuela vs. their neighbor Colombia, with the former allegedly providing funding and support to an organization the latter deems terrorist, it also brings the French government, the U.S. government, and every Latin American government, into the fray.
The U.S. has provided Colombia with billions of dollars of military aid, and any subsequent military action involving Colombia naturally involves the U.S., especially if they're fighting Chavez. The French government, which is actively working for the release of the dual Colombian / French citizen Ingrid Betancourt — a hostage of the FARC for six years, expressed its disappointment after Reyes was killed; he had served as the point man in communications between the two.
More moderate Latin American governments will do the diplomatic dance for the time being, but ultimately they may be forced to pick sides, as the more outspoken governments have already done. President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua critcized the Colombian government for throwing a wrench in potential peace talks with the FARC. Like many others, he viewed the recent hostage release by the FARC (the second such release mediated by Chavez) as a sign that such talks would prove effective.
Colombia has violated the sovereignty of Ecuador, and most Latin American governments agree that fact needs explanation, and perhaps a sign of contrition. But the extreme reactions of Correa and Chavez may be an acknowledgment that Colombia has reason to attack them militarily.
With foreign governments financing an armed insurgency in Uribe's country, he has little choice but to take steps to against them. As one who is willing, even eager, to give Chavez the benefit of the doubt, in this case I have to tip my cap to Uribe. He is taking his justified grievances through diplomatic channels such as the ICC, and is staying calm in spite of the rash moves of Correa and Chavez. Granted, that level-headed response is the only rational one for a president who faces an internal enemy allied with two of his neighbors, but not all presidents are in the habit of acting rationally.
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