The comments came after days of an escalating diplomatic row that saw the two South American neighbors break off relations over Bogota’s accusations that Venezuela was harboring leftist guerrillas engaged in a decades-long battle against the Colombian government.

Maduro’s stop in Uruguay was the third on a diplomatic tour of the region, which has included Brazil and Paraguay. He is due for talks in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia before arriving in Ecuador for a meeting of foreign ministers of the regional body Unasur.

Maduro has indicated he would offer a “peace plan,” the details of which have not been specified, for what he said was 60 years of conflict in Colombia and which has spilled over to Venezuela.

In Bogota, Uribe dismissed the notion of a peace plan from Caracas, saying it could be a ruse to “loosen the grip of the snake” without ensuring security for his country.

“We’re not going to fall into that trap,” he said.

“We are asking the international community to follow the same standards we are following: fighting terrorism and not allowing it to take root anywhere.”

Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said meanwhile in an interview with Ecuadoran television that the new government in Bogota may find it easier to deal with the question but that the current government must live up to its responsibility.

“Our political and constitutional responsibility continues until August 7,” he said.

The unrest had also resulted in negative international media publicity for Jamaica, as well as a projected US$300 million fall-out in earnings from tourism, which he said the country could potentially lose, if the damage was not addressed.

Consequently, the Minister spearheaded a major US$10 million marketing and promotional blitz, targeting mainly the traditional North American markets of the United States and Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the official re-opening of the newly renovated Devon House in St. Andrew on Monday,  Bartlett cited the positive turn in Kingston’s fortunes in relation to visitor arrivals.

“Following overall arrivals that had increased by some 7.3 per cent between January and April this year, there was much consternation as arrivals to Kingston suffered substantial declines of between 17 and 18 per cent in May and June, respectively. I am happy to announce that Kingston’s arrivals have been coming back, and we have seen a gradual reduction in the rate of fallout in arrivals. Montego Bay continues to increase by five to six per cent,” the Minister said.

Bartlett pointed out that the fallout of tourist arrivals from the event of the past two months have been contained. “We have worked with our industry partners to put these events in the context of a destination which, throughout this period (of unrest), remained both safe and attractive to our visitors,” he added.

The historic Devon House mansion, which is a pivotal part of Jamaica’s heritage tourism product, was re-opened after undergoing major renovation over the last two years. The work, which entailed interior and exterior infrastructural works and landscaping, was funded from a $102 million allocation from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Describing the re-opening as “timely,” Bartlett said the occasion was one that must be embraced within the context of “renewed calls for a new dawn for our city.”

“The work at Devon House must be seen in the wider context of repositioning heritage tourism, and the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA), as lynch pins for the island’s tourism,” he said. 

Bartlett argued that the two-month state of emergency and the fall-out in tourist arrivals have, again, brought into sharp focus the need to re-examine areas of Jamaica’s competitive advantage, and accelerate efforts to maximize these for the country’s benefit

“At this time, Wyclef Jean has not announced his intent to run for Haitian president. If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately.”

The statement responded to a report in Canada’s French-language Le Droit newspaper and rumors in Haiti that the former Fugees frontman is preparing paperwork for a bid in the upcoming election.

Current President Rene Preval is barred by the constitution from seeking a new term in the elections scheduled for November 28.

Preval’s mandate expires in February 2011, but several parties have accused him of seeking to stay in office, adding political tensions to the economic and humanitarian troubles afflicting the impoverished country.

Jean, who lives in New York, is founder of the humanitarian Yele Haiti Foundation and has played a prominent role in securing aid after the January 12 earthquake leveled much of the capital city Port-au-Prince.

Widespread allegations of financial mismanagement were leveled at the organization during the crisis.

The quake killed 250,000 people and has left 1.5 million homeless, causing a huge humanitarian disaster in the poorest country in the Americas.