This article was originally posted by Latin America News Dispatch
A meeting of Mercosur, the South American regional trading bloc, has become the latest forum for a feud between the governments of Venezuela and Colombia.
Mercosur began at two-day meeting Monday in San Juan, Argentina, with the purpose of addressing trade issues and to sign a free trade agreement with Egypt. Though the meeting had little to do with the conflict between Venezuela and Colombia — Colombia is not a member of Mercosur and the organization’s mission is not related to regional security – the Paraguayan delegate, Héctor Lacagnata, raised the issue, saying that Mercosur should help find a solution.
Venezula’s foreign minister, Nicolás Maduro, said the conflict should be discussed in Unasur, an organization of South American nations that handles security issues, rather than Mercosur.