Tensions remain high in South America days after Colombian troops crossed into Ecuador and killed twenty members of FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. On Tuesday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega criticized Colombia for carrying out an attack inside Ecuador.

Daniel Ortega: “This attitude taken by the Colombian government of bombing Ecuadorian territory, three kilometers inside — President Rafael Correa said that it was a prepared operation to assassinate the man who had worked in favor of negotiation and peace… Colombia is becoming a factor of destabilization and uncertainty for Latin America.”

Meanwhile, in Washington, President Bush publicly defended the actions of Colombia, a close US ally.

President Bush: “I told the president that America fully supports Colombia’s democracy and that we firmly oppose any acts of aggression that could destabilize the region. I told him that America will continue to stand with Colombia as it confronts violence and terror and fights drug traffickers.”

On Monday, Ecuador and Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Colombia and moved troops to the Colombian border. In Bogota, Colombian officials have begun making several new accusations about the FARC rebels. Colombia’s vice president claimed FARC was trying to acquire radioactive material to make dirty bombs. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe threatened to bring Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez before the International Criminal Court for sponsoring and financing genocide. Uribe accuses Chavez of financing the FARC. Chavez, in turn, accused Colombia of being the “Israel of Latin America” for carrying out an assassination strike in a foreign country.