Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gestures at his army troops minutes [before the arrival of Colombia..,...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gestures at his army troops minutes [before the arrival of Colombian President Andres Pastrana ]at Macagua airport in Ciudad Guayana, 700 kms southeast of capital, March 23, 2001. [Venezuela and Colombia, their relations strained by disputes over Colombian leftist guerrillas, appeared ready Friday to put ties back on a more even keel as their presidents headed for a crucial meeting. Venezuelan authorities temporarily freed Jose Maria Ballestas, who is wanted for the 1999 hijacking of a Colombian airliner, in a move that angered Bogota and fueled speculation about links between Chavez and leftist rebels in Colombia. Following the furious Colombian reaction, Venezuela later re-arrested Ballestas, a member of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, and charged him with carrying false identity papers].