The United States on Wednesday downplayed Venezuela's military buildup along its border with Colombia, saying Caracas has no role to play other than to join international efforts to promote dialogue between Colombia and Ecuador. “This is an issue between Colombia and Ecuador,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters when asked to comment on military deployments by Colombia, including heavy weapons like tanks. Casey said Colombia wants to stop threats from “terrorist” group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), while Ecuador seeks to prevent another Colombian military strike against the FARC in its territory. “This is an issue where the best course of action is for the two of them to engage and work this out,” he said. “Frankly, [I am] not sure what Venezuela's role in this should be, or remotely could be, other than to try to do what the rest of us are doing, which is to encourage a dialogue among the parties,” Casey said.
