A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Sensationalism is, without a doubt, the driving force of today’s media. The media coverage of the current diplomatic crisis in Colombia is indeed a great example of the shameless disregard of facts and honest reporting in favor of apocalyptic scenarios aimed at boosting ratings. I am following the situation closely, and I cannot help but be frustrated by the endless hypothesizing of an all-out two-front war, an American intervention, and other outcomes that assume that Latin Americans are not able to resolve their conflicts peacefully. The truth is that war is the most unlikely of scenarios. To begin with, Colombia and Venezuela are too interdependent. Colombia relies on Venezuelan oil and Venezuela imports 60% of its food supply from Colombia. Chavez must realize that a war would also disrupt his oil infrastructure (a prime target in a war) and would therefore cripple Venezuela’s unstable economy, an economy that is already suffering from high food prices and a 22% inflation rate. Moreover, Chavez’ popularity has been declining in recent months and a war would most certainly turn the people against him. There are other reasons, and this article delineates them, but the bottom line is that, unless some unexpected event were to catalyze a conflict, war is certainly most unlikely.