Reuters: Venezuela assembly gives Chavez decree powers
Venezuela's parliament gave President Hugo Chavez decree powers for 18 months on Friday, outraging opposition parties that accused him of turning South America's biggest oil producer into a dictatorship.
Venezuela and Colombia restore ties. Ecuador considers the incident resolved.
Given the relative strengths of the armies, Colombia has a strong advantage (link anyone?), so this largely amounted to a textbook drill on resolving a dangerous situation peacefully.
Chavez no doubt hoped to score points domestically by looking tough, and score points abroad by resolving a situation diplomatically, quickly, and with [the appearance of] finality.
Did he succeed? I'm doubtful.
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