STOCKHOLM, July 28 (Reuters) - The Swedish government said on Tuesday it had asked Venezuela for information on how Swedish-made weapons exported to the South American country had found their way to rebels in neighbouring Colombia.Colombia authorities said on Monday they had seized anti-tank weapons purchased in Europe by Venezuela in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. [ID:nN27540288]"It is correct that they have found these weapons to be Swedish-made," said Jens Eriksson, a top political adviser at the Foreign Ministry to Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling."We are working together with Colombian authorities to investigate the matter further and we have contacted Venezuelan authorities to clear up how these arms ended up in Colombia."Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami denied on Monday the weapons found in the hands of FARC, which has been fighting for a socialist revolution since the 1960s and is labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States, had come from Venezuela.Eriksson said "a smaller quantity" of arms, mainly ammunition, had also been found in rebel hands.A Swedish Foreign Ministry official said the anti-tank weapons had been exported to Venezuela in the 1980s but that some shipments of ammunition for the weapons systems had occurred at a later date.No licenses have been issued for arms exports to Colombia while no shipments of weapons to Venezuela under a 2006 licence has been carried out in recent years, Eriksson said. (editing by Robert Woodward)
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The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, announced on Tuesday that "We will freeze relations with Colombia."  He attributed the decision to "new aggression by the government of Colombia." Further, he said, "I've ordered to withdraw our ambassador from Bogota, to withdraw our diplomatic personnel."

This diplomatic move follows claims by Colombia that amongst weapons its military has captured from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are AT4 anti-tank rockets manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics of Sweden. Colombia further alleges that the weapons were first sold to Venezuela before being given to the FARC.
AT4 being fired by U.S. Marine during a training mission.
"This is not the first time that this happens," Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos said. "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons from the FARC, we have found powerful munitions and powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons, from a European country that sold them to Venezuela and that turned up in the hands of the FARC."

"It is correct that they have found these weapons to be Swedish-made," said Jens Eriksson, adviser at the Swedish foreign ministry. "We are working together with Colombian authorities to investigate the matter further and we have contacted Venezuelan authorities to clear up how these arms ended up in Colombia."

Venezuela denies the allegations. "To me it seems that this is a new attack against our government based on lies," Venezuelan interior minister Tarek El Aissami said on Monday. "We absolutely deny that our government or our institutions are providing assistance to criminal and terrorist organizations. It's laughable, it sounds like a cheap film made by the American government."

Foreign minister Nicolás Maduro said that the whole thing is a campaign "to justify the presence of US bases" in Colombia.