Chavez says destruction of walking bridges to Colombia 'routine'

Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the destruction of "illegal" pedestrian bridges at the border with Colombia was "routine," and said the government would continue to eliminate them. Chavez said Saturday that the military had destroyed two bridges in the state of Tachira because they were used by traffickers of narcotics and other contraband.

He accused Bogota of mounting a "media operation to paint us as the aggressors - a strategy used by the Colombian oligarchy" with the help the press.

"The destruction of those illegal bridges is routine," he said during an international conference of leftist political parties. "We will continue to destroy the clandestine routes and laboratories for processing drugs that come from Colombia."

Chavez dismissed Colombia's protests to international agencies alleging that the destruction of the bridges was a grave offense during heightened tensions between the neighboring countries.

He said the destroyed structures were pedestrian bridges, in spite of Colombia's attempts to compare them to the iconic Golden Gate in the United States.

"For years we have been dismantling illegal passages, neutralizing them, in many areas, not only over a river but also under the river," Chavez said.