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Despite Angry Showdown at Latin American SummitBorder Dispute Seems Over With Handshakes

By Fox News
Published | Updated

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Heated accusatiosn broke out Friday at a Latin American summit over a border crisis between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, but the crisis appears to be over after the three countries' presidents exchanged handshakes.

FOX News' Adam Housley, reporting from the region, said the three leaders declared the standoff over and called for peace at the summit held in the Dominican Republic.

Reuters reports that Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said, "And with this ... this incident that has caused so much damage (is) resolved," before shaking hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has said his country intends to normalize relations with Colombia.

The crisis stemmed from Colombia's military attack last weekend on leftist rebels camped across the border in Ecuador. Venezuela had sided with Ecuador against the U.S.-backed government of Colombia.

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On Friday, the three presidents joined other leaders in approving a declaration designed to end the confrontation that was triggered by Colombia's military attack on a leftist Colombian rebel camp in Ecuador.

The summit's dramatic high point came when Dominican President Leonel Fernandez tried to calm things down by urging Uribe to shake hands with his antagonists. Uribe then marched around the table and shared stiff handshakes with Correa and Chavez.

Correa appealed to Uribe to respect their border and never again act unilaterally to send commandos into his territory to attack a rebel camp. If such an act is justified, then no border will be safe, Correa said, drawing perhaps the day's loudest applause.

The declaration adopted by the leaders of the 20-nation Rio Group noted that Uribe had apologized for last weekend's raid, which killed a top Colombian rebel leader and others.

The declaration, read by Fernandez, also reiterated the commitment of member governments to fight threats to national stability from "irregular or criminal groups."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.