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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Video Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared N.Korea declares "sacred war" on U.S., South | Video 23 Jul 2010 Clintons in tears over Chelsea? You can bet on it 19 Jul 2010 Analysis: Frustration grows as AIDS science and politics clash 23 Jul 2010 India develops world's cheapest "laptop" at $35 23 Jul 2010 Seven banks fail Europe stress test | Video 23 Jul 2010 California city official quits nearly $800,000 post 23 Jul 2010 Dismissed Gen. 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McChrystal gets hero's send-off 23 Jul 2010 N.Korea threatens "physical response" to U.S. moves | Video 23 Jul 2010 Chavez says U.S., Colombia seek pretext for "invasion" Digg This Tweet This Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Related News Analysis: Santos to inherit tricky Colombia-Venezuela feud Fri, Jul 23 2010 Related Topics World » Related Video Colombia's ICJ threat to Venezuela Fri, Jul 23 2010 Colombia's Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez (R) gestures during a news conference at the Andean Community headquarters in Lima July 22, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Enrique Castro-Mendivil By Pascal Fletcher CARACAS | Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:39pm EDT CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday dismissed Colombian charges that he harbored leftist Colombian rebels as "a hoax" and pretext for a possible U.S.-backed invasion of his oil-producing country. A day after abruptly severing relations with U.S. ally Colombia over the accusations, the socialist Venezuelan leader condemned the government of outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as "an instrument of (U.S.) imperialism". Leftist Chavez's breaking of ties with Bogota has ratcheted up tensions between OPEC member Venezuela and U.S.-supported Colombia in a volatile Andean region plagued by clashing ideologies, guerrilla armies and drug-trafficking. Addressing a meeting in Caracas of trade unionists from the Americas, Chavez said the United States was targeting his revolutionary rule over top South American crude producer Venezuela, which remains a leading U.S. oil supplier. "Now Colombia is a great big Yankee base," he said, referring to a deal last year that allows U.S. forces the use of Colombian military bases, a pact Chavez says poses a direct threat to his country. He survived a brief coup in 2002 and frequently denounces assassination plots he says are hatched by domestic enemies and supported by the U.S. government. The Venezuelan leader repeated his government's rejection of photos, videos and maps presented by Colombia to the Organization of American States to back its charges that Colombian guerrillas operate from camps inside Venezuela. "All this hoax that here in Venezuela there are I don't know how many thousands of terrorists ... this lie is a perfect excuse to attempt an invasion of Venezuela," he said. Such an attack would trigger "a 100-year war", Chavez said, adding: "May God protect us from such a war". "We want peace in Colombia, we want peace between us," he said. He even suggested the more than four-decades-old Marxist insurgency in Colombia should "reconsider its armed strategy". "I don't think there are conditions in Colombia for them (the guerrillas) to take power in a foreseeable period of time," he said, noting that other former leftist rebels in Latin American had turned politicians and won elections. Earlier, the United States urged Chavez to address the charges by Bogota of Colombian rebels sheltering in Venezuela. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said it was unfortunate Venezuela would not allow an international commission to verify the Colombian charges, as requested by Bogota at the OAS. "It was a petulant response by Venezuela to cut off relations with Colombia," Crowley said in Washington. He told reporters the U.S. government hoped for a more "constructive" reply from Caracas. CALM ON THE FRONTIER Despite the heated Venezuelan government rhetoric, the border with Colombia remained calm on Friday and Latin American governments sought to defuse the rift between the two Andean neighbors, which have often sparred and squabbled in the past over border security and guerrillas. Most analysts believe a military clash is unlikely. Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said that his country wanted better cooperation from Venezuela to dismantle illegal armed groups battling Colombia's government. "What is clear is that there needs to be a specific instrument or mechanism so that this subject is resolved and there is effective cooperation in the fight against terrorism," he told reporters in Bogota. Despite tensions, the main crossing between San Antonio del Tachira in Venezuela and Cucuta in Colombia was open and vehicles and people were crossing with no sign of any immediate military build-up or major troop movements, witnesses said. Earlier on Friday, Venezuelan Defense Minister General Carlos Mata appeared on television, in military fatigues and flanked by top commanders, to declare loyalty to Chavez and to sternly warn Uribe's government against attempting an attack. Mata said in his broadcast the Venezuelan military, which has some 20,000 troops along the porous 1,375-mile border, was "operationally prepared." Uribe, who will be succeeded by newly-elected Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on August 7, has ramped up charges that Caracas tolerates rebels in Venezuelan territory. Chavez has expressed the hope that ties, which were turbulent with Uribe, can return to normal under Santos, who has been careful to avoid public comment on the rift so far. Santos, who as defense minister played a major role in Uribe's military sweeps against Marxist guerrilla groups, has said he favors dialogue with Caracas. Bilateral trade, once at $7 billion annually, has plummeted since Chavez suspended commercial ties last year to protest the deal allowing U.S. forces to use Colombian bases. Analysts say both countries could lose if the dispute deepens. Venezuelan private industry association Conindustria urged the country's leaders to resume dialogue with Bogota, saying the falloff in trade hurt Venezuela's economy too. Colombia has said it could take allegations of cross-border attacks by rebels it says are based in Venezuela to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Bogota alleges Venezuela is failing in its international obligations by not acting against the drug-trafficking guerrillas. (Additional reporting by Jack Kimball in Bogota, Eyanir Chinea in Caracas and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Alan Elsner) World Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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