Colombia rejects war accusation from Chavez

Colombia Sunday denied charges by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the country is preparing a military attack, calling the claims "political deceit."

"Colombia has never thought of attacking our brothers in Venezuela," said Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, Colombia's presidential spokesman.

"Colombia has accessed the channels of international law, and will continue insisting on those mechanisms. Our nation will adopt an instrument to make the Venezuelan government comply with its obligation not to shelter Colombian terrorists," he added.

The spokesman's comments came a day after Chavez said he had deployed military units to repel a possible attack.

The current tensions between the countries were sparked by Bogota's claims that Venezuela was harboring some 1,500 leftist Colombian rebels, an allegation strongly denied by Caracas.

Chavez recently canceled a trip to Cuba, claiming the risk of a Colombian attack had never been greater.

A year ago, the Venezuelan president also warned of war in the region after Bogota signed a deal with Washington to allow the US army to use seven military bases in Colombia.

Agencies