**Colombia has detained four members of the Venezuelan national guard on Colombian soil amid continuing tension between the South American neighbours.**President Alvaro Uribe said they would be returned to Venezuela with the message that there was “unbreakable affection” between the two countries.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez last week sent troops to the border area.
Mr Chavez says a new US-Colombia military co-operation agreement sets the stage for an invasion of Venezuela.
Bogota and Washington dismiss the claims.
‘Brotherly affection’
The Venezuelan guardsmen were arrested in Colombia’s sparsely populated border department of Vichada, but President Uribe said they would be returned home within hours.
“They should carry back the message that here there is brotherly affection for Venezuela and that affection is unbreakable,” he said.
Earlier this month, President Chavez urged his armed forces to be prepared for possible war.
He says the increased US access to Colombian bases allows Washington to spy on Venezuela and attack strategic targets, says the BBC’s Charles Scanlon in Miami.
Bogota says the pact is aimed at fighting drug-traffickers and Marxist rebels within Colombia’s own borders.