Harsh, and very loud, verbal clash today in Cancún between Chavez and Uribe. It got so heated that Raul Castro had to step up and calm them down.

It happened at a lunch break of the Group of Rio leaders.

Uribe complained to Chavez that Venezuela was not respecting commercial agreements the two nations had signed previously. Uribe said Venezuela's "blockade" against Colombian businesses was the equivalent of the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba.

Chavez replied that since he was first elected in 1999, commerce between the two countries had risen from 1.6 billion dollars to 7.9 billion in 2008.

Chavez then brought up the 300 Colombian paramilitaries that he said had been sent into Venezuela to assassinate him, which Uribe denied. Then Chavez threatened to leave the lunch.

"Be a man and stay and discuss this face to face. Sometimes you insult from a distance, but when you are face to face we don't talk," Uribe said.

Uribe then demanded that Chavez apologize for "insults" against Uribe following the signing of the U.S./Colombian military bases accords.

"Go to hell," Chavez replied. (Vete al carajo)

The Spanish news agency EFE reported that at that point, Raul Castro stepped into the fray, calling for them to calm down.


Among the witnesses were Lula, Fernández of the DR, Correa, Castro, and others. Some of the leaders later met separately with both Chavez and Uribe to smooth over things.