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Venezuela 'sends tanks to border' Venezuela 'sends tanks to border'
(20 minutes later)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered his military to send troops and tanks to the border with Colombia, after Bogota killed a leading rebel. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is sending thousands of troops and tanks to the border with Colombia, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions.
Speaking on his weekly television show, President Chavez also said Venezuela's embassy in Colombia would close.Speaking on his weekly television show, President Chavez also said Venezuela's embassy in Colombia would close.
Mr Chavez said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was a "criminal".Mr Chavez said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was a "criminal".
He said the killing of Raul Reyes, a top commander of the left-wing Farc rebels, just inside Ecuador on Saturday was a "cowardly murder".He said the killing of Raul Reyes, a top commander of the left-wing Farc rebels, just inside Ecuador on Saturday was a "cowardly murder".
Mr Chavez has been mediating with Farc to secure the release of hostages the rebels hold, and six have so far been freed under this initiative. Mr Chavez has been mediating with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - or Farc - to secure the release of hostages the rebels hold, and six have so far been freed under this initiative.
But he lamented the killing of Reyes - whom he called a "good revolutionary" - and at least 16 other Farc rebels when he spoke on his show, "Alo, President".But he lamented the killing of Reyes - whom he called a "good revolutionary" - and at least 16 other Farc rebels when he spoke on his show, "Alo, President".
'Invasion''Invasion'
"It wasn't any combat. It was a cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated," Mr Chavez said. After Saturday's operation 1.8km (one mile) into Ecuadorean territory, Colombia's defence minister described the death of Reyes as the "biggest blow so far" to Farc.
Reyes was Farc's first secretariat member to be killed in combat But Mr Chavez described the strike as "a cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated".
Farc 'invincibility' shattered
He said Colombia "invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador's sovereignty".He said Colombia "invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador's sovereignty".
Mr Chavez addressed his defence minister, asking him to "move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately" - a deployment likely to involve several thousand soldiers.Mr Chavez addressed his defence minister, asking him to "move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately" - a deployment likely to involve several thousand soldiers.
He ordered the Venezuelan embassy in Bogota closed and said all embassy personnel would be withdrawn.He ordered the Venezuelan embassy in Bogota closed and said all embassy personnel would be withdrawn.
Mr Chavez had earlier warned Bogota that any incursion into Venezuelan territory similar to Saturday's operation would be a "cause for war".Mr Chavez had earlier warned Bogota that any incursion into Venezuelan territory similar to Saturday's operation would be a "cause for war".
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has also protested to Bogota about its incursion, calling it "scandalous". US critic
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has complained to the Colombian government about its incursion, calling it "scandalous", and a formal protest has now been lodged with Bogota.
While Mr Chavez is a vociferous critic of the US, Colombia's government has received billions of dollars in aid from Washington to fight the guerrillas - the US, along with the EU, views Farc as a terrorist organisation.
Colombian troops have recently retaken control of areas previously held by rebel groups, but Farc retains a strong hold over Colombia's more remote regions.