Venezuela President Hugo Chavez ordered tank battalions to the Colombian border and mobilised warplanes on Sunday after Colombian troops struck inside another of its neighbours, Ecuador, in an attack on rebels.
He also ordered the shutting of Venezuela's embassy in Colombia and the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff in the dispute, warning Colombia's actions could spark a war in South America.
"Mr Defence Minister, move me 10 battalions to the frontier with Colombia immediately, tank battalions," Chavez said on his weekly TV show. "The air force should mobilise. We do not want war."