Hugo Chavez says Venezuela to sever ties with Colombia
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said his country will sever diplomatic ties with Colombia over claims he harbours militants.
"We have no other choice but to totally break our relations with our brother nation of Colombia," he said on TV.
Bogota says it has evidence Venezuela provides a haven for guerrillas - a charge Caracas denies.
Mr Chavez said the US was using Colombia to undermine his country's regional integration efforts.
In an early response from Washington, an official was quoted by AFP news gency as saying Venezuela's breaking of ties with Colombia was not a "proper way" to raise concerns.
Colombia earlier recalled its ambassador and formally complained to the Organisation of American States (OAS).
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It submitted photos and maps which, it said, were proof that some 1,500 Colombian rebels were sheltering at numerous camps inside Venezuela.
The issue over whether Venezuela has rebels on its territory has dogged ties between the two South American nations for the past eight years.
The latest exchange plunges bilateral relations to a new low and leaves Juan Manuel Santos who takes over as Colombia's president from Alvaro Uribe in two weeks with a very difficult situation to handle, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota.
'Maximum alert'
The Venezuelan president made his announcement while standing next to the Argentina football coach, Diego Maradona, who was visiting Caracas.
Mr Chavez said that he was acting "out of dignity".
"I have ordered maximum alert on our border, maximum vigilance on our border which we do take care of," he was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
Earlier on Thursday, in a lengthy and impassioned speech in Washington, the Colombian ambassador to the OAS, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, showed maps, photos and videos which he said proved that Marxist rebels had 39 camps in Venezuela and that top guerrilla commanders were resident there.
"Facts over recent weeks show that real risks are materialising due to the consolidated, active and growing presence of these terrorist groups in Venezuela," he said.
Colombia demanded that Venezuela fulfil its international obligations to fight terrorism and that it allow an international commission to visit suspect sites.
The Venezuelan ambassador to the OAS, Roy Chaderton, ridiculed the Colombian evidence, saying that the photos and videos could have been taken anywhere and that if visits were to be organised, why not allow an international commission to see the US military bases on Colombian soil.
Mr Chaderton said the Colombian accusations were a lie.
President Hugo Chávez has temporarily suspended relations with the neighboring country of Colombia.

"I feel obliged for dignity's sake to suspend relations with the government of Colombia. It is the least we can do, and we will remain alert, as President Álvaro  is a sick man, filled with hate," said Chávez during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace with the coach of the Argentinian national football team, , whom he was meeting during Maradona's visit to Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government has given Colombian diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.

"We have sent a message to the Colombian trade delegation in Caracas telling them to close their embassy and vacate the country," Venezuela's Foreign Minister, , informed the media.

In an extraordinary session at the headquarters of the  (OAS) in Washington, DC, the Colombian ambassador, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, declared that Chávez's government was "harbouring  guerrillas"  on Venezuelan territory and requested the formation of an international committee of inquiry to verify FARC's presence in Venezuela within 30 days.

Venezuela's representative to the OAS, Roy Chaderton, advised the assembly to pay no attention to the Colombian "forgeries" and declared that there were thousands of Colombians living in Venezuela and that they were being treated with respect and equality.

"I warn the international community. We will brook no aggression, nor any violations of our national sovereignty," said Chávez, and added that any war with Colombia would "have to be fought with tears, but it would have to be fought."

For its part, the United States criticised Venezuela's decision to cut diplomatic ties.

"I don't believe that cutting relations is the right way to go to resolve this problem," said Philip Crowley, spokesperson for the .

The Secretary General of the OAS, , also asked both sides to "calm their passions."

"We have been able to resolve serious conflicts for many years. I hope that we will be able to do so again now, but both Venezuela and Colombia will have to concede ground," said Insulza.