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| Chavez steps up Colombia rhetoric | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged his armed forces to be prepared for possible war with Colombia amid growing diplomatic and border tensions. | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged his armed forces to be prepared for possible war with Colombia amid growing diplomatic and border tensions. |
| He said the best way to avoid war was to prepare for it. In response, Colombia said it would seek help from the United Nations. | He said the best way to avoid war was to prepare for it. In response, Colombia said it would seek help from the United Nations. |
| Venezuela blames the tension with its neighbour on closer military ties between Colombia and the US. | |
| Colombia says US forces are only there to battle rebels and drug traffickers. | Colombia says US forces are only there to battle rebels and drug traffickers. |
| "Let's not waste a day on our main aim: to prepare for war and to help the people prepare for war, because it is everyone's responsibility," Mr Chavez said during his TV and radio show Alo, Presidente. | |
| Mr Chavez has also ordered 15,000 troops to the border, citing increased violence by Colombian paramilitary groups. | |
| The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota, Colombia, says that normally such declarations would not cause alarm, but because of the current tensions there are fears of a possible spark on the border which could lead to further violence. | |
| Frozen ties | |
| In response to Mr Chavez's comments, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said his government would seek help from the UN Security Council and also the Organization of American States. | |
| "Colombia has not made nor will it make any bellicose move toward the international community, even less so toward fellow Latin American nations," a statement by Mr Uribe said. | |
| Ties between Colombia and Venezuela have been frozen since July when Bogota said it would let the US army use its military bases for anti-drugs operations. | |
| The agreement has caused alarm among some of Colombia's neighbours, who object to an increased US military presence in the region. | |
| When news of the deal first broke in August, Mr Chavez warned that "winds of war" were blowing across the continent. |