Meddle Nettle

A sovereign state is, by definition, supposed to manage affairs inside its borders. But that's not always the case, especially when it comes to disputes involving guerrilla movements. After all, moral equivalency or not, one nation's terrorists really are another's freedom fighters, and foreign governments sometimes cross international borders to protect antigovernment forces elsewhere, reinforce ethnic movements, or simply to make their presence known. Last week, for example, documents revealed that Venezuela is still supporting the FARC guerrillas in Colombia.

Not surprisingly, this uninvited meddling is not received warmly; intrusions often cause major international crises. By offering military aid, financial support, and political alliances to rebel groups, nations can sour relations with their neighbors (as with Venezuela and Colombia) or even with distant foes (as with Saudi Arabia and Russia). Here is a brief overview of nations that have wreaked havoc by meddling in the business of other countries.

Years: 1964-present
The meddler: Venezuela
The transgression: Caracas provides money and political support for Colombia's FARC guerrillas.
Considered a terrorist organization by a number of countries, including the United States, FARC guerrillas have been fighting to overthrow the government in Colombia since the 1960s. They operate inside the jungles along Venezuela's border and represent the largest Marxist insurgency in Latin America. The group is infamous for its kidnappings of foreign citizens and violent attacks against Colombian targets. Since coming into power in 2002, President Alvaro Uribe, whose own father was killed in a FARC kidnapping attempt, has successfully battled the insurgents; but he still hasn't found a way to cut off the aid that FARC militants receive from abroad.

Venezuela is considered to be sympathetic to the FARC. In an effort to legitimize the group's plight, President Hugo Chávez has urged Colombia to recognize it as a "belligerent force" instead of "terrorists." Chávez's ties to FARC are so close that, in August 2007, Uribe asked the Venezuelan president to serve as a mediator in talks over freeing hostages held by the group. When the negotiations fell apart, the two leaders traded public insults (Chávez compared Uribe to a "mafia boss"; Uribe reiterated by calling him a "legitimizer of terrorists"). Chávez has repeatedly denied his government's collaboration with the rebel group.

But in March 2008, when Colombia raided a FARC camp in Ecuador, its analysts discovered intelligence that suggested Venezuela had given $300 million and military support to the FARC. Venezuela responded by sending troops to its Colombian border. Last week new evidence obtained from rebels showed that Venezuelan officials still assist the FARC by securing arms deals and facilitating the rebels' movement inside Venezuela.

Years: 1985-1986
The meddler: The U.S.
The transgression: Washington funded contra rebel group in Nicaragua with arms sales to Iran.
During the Cold War, the United States did its fair share of intervening, under the Reagan Doctrine, to prevent the spread of Soviet-backed communism. One particular case erupted into a scandal involving two otherwise little-related nations, Nicaragua and Iran. The anticommunist opposition in Nicaragua, the contras, was formed in 1979 to fight the socialist regime. They often used violent means, such as rape, torture, and murder, during their struggle. But because they were fighting the Cuban-backed Sandinista government, they were the "moral equal of our Founding Fathers," according to President Reagan, and thus the recipient of large financial and military support from the United States. The U.S. was also influential in strengthening the contras by unifying and training the largely disorganized groups that made up the opposition.