Colombia, Venezuela settle row
(CNN) -- Colombia and Venezuela have resolved a bitter monthlong dispute stemming from the capture of a Marxist guerrilla in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
Late Friday, the Colombian government issued a press release saying that a deal had been reached, and "the incident has been resolved," without explaining how.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will travel to neighboring Venezuela on February 3 for a visit with President Hugo Chavez, during which he will "listen to President Chavez and propose ways to reflect," the Colombian statement said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque said he was "pleased" by the agreement.
In December, Rodrigo Granada, a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist rebel group battling the government, was captured in Caracas by bounty hunters paid by Colombia. He was taken to the border between the two countries and arrested.
Chavez reacted strongly to the incident, demanding that Uribe apologize. After the Colombian leader refused, Venezuela recalled its ambassador from Bogota, suspended some commercial ties and moved additional troops to the border.
Uribe is a conservative with close ties to the United States who has taken a hard-line against the Marxist rebels.
Chavez, by contrast, is a left-wing populist unpopular in Washington for, among other things, his close relationship with Cuba's Communist President Fidel Castro.
Colombia has charged that the Chavez government has been giving sanctuary to Marxist rebels, creating a rift between the two South American neighbors.
