In response to criticism that Ecuador harbors Colombian rebels, Ecuadorian President Correa has told Bush to either send troops or shut up.

“Mr Bush, bring over your soldiers, let your soldiers be the ones who get killed at the southern border with Colombia,” Correa said two weeks after Bogota raided a Colombian rebel camp inside Ecuador killing a top rebel leader.

“Lets see if American citizens will accept such a tremendous barbarity. Otherwise, shut up and try to understand what’s happening in Latin America,” the Ecuadorian leader added.

Also Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday said Bush was clutching at straws in his criticism of Venezuela: “The head of the empire is getting desperate.”

As to the possibility Venezuela may be included in a US list of states that sponsor terrorism, for its alleged links to the FARC, Chavez was a little more blunt: “Let them make that list and then stuff it in their … pocket.”

Correa also reiterated his proposal that a multinational force monitor the 600 kilometer (370 miles) Ecuador-Colombia border, which the Washington-based Organization of American States has ruled out due to the rugged terrain.