CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) --Venezuela formally protested to Colombia on
Wednesday over what it called a "malicious" Colombian army report that left-wing
guerrillas were operating from a base in Venezuelan territory.

The diplomatic protest note, which was delivered to the Colombian Embassy in
Caracas, rejected allegations made last week by a Colombian army general who said
Marxist FARC rebels had crossed from Venezuela to attack Colombian troops.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila, who read the note at a news
conference in Caracas, said the Colombian authorities were not doing enough to halt
the spillover of violence and drug-trafficking activities across the 1,380-mile
(2,220-km) border between the two Andean neighbors.

In a statement a week ago, Colombian army Gen. Martin Orlando Carreno said
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels, known by their Spanish acronym
FARC, used a base inside Venezuela to lob gas cylinders at his troops and as a
launching ground for hit-and-run attacks.

"This malicious action of declaring that Venezuelan territory serves as a refuge or
operations base for Colombian guerrillas is surprising," Davila said in his statement.

"Our (military) units, in continuous and persistent patrols carried out in the zone,
have verified that no supposed (guerrilla) camp exists," he added.

Ties between the two Andean neighbors, who share a rugged frontier of mountains,
jungle and ranchland, have been strained in the past by squabbles over Venezuela's
attitude to the 38-year-old war in Colombia, which pits Marxist rebels against
government troops and right-wing paramilitaries.

Venezuela's left-wing president Hugo Chavez has strenuously denied accusations by
domestic and foreign critics, including Colombian politicians, that his government
sympathizes with, and has even collaborated with, Colombia's leftist rebels.

Ties not seen damaged

Asked by reporters whether he thought the formal Venezuelan protest would set
back an improvement in relations between the two countries in recent months,
Davila said: "Absolutely not."

"It just seeks to clear things up ... I don't see any reason for relations to be
damaged," he added.

Prior to Wednesday's formal protest, senior Venezuelan officials had angrily rejected
Carreno's allegations, describing them as ill-intentioned and insulting.

"Such statements completely contradict, not only reality, but also the understanding
that Venezuela has always shown toward the unfortunate internal conflict that is
shaking Colombia," Davila said in the protest note.

He added that Venezuela had deployed security forces widely along the border. But
he complained that Colombia, despite pleas from Caracas, had not taken sufficient
security measures to stop the activities of guerrillas, paramilitaries and
drug-traffickers from spilling over into Venezuela.

"You can't expect one state alone to be the sole protector of the common border,
especially when the other state is the one that is generating, either through action or
omission, the disruption of security," Davila said.

The Colombian army reported last week that 21 FARC rebels and 17 government
troops were killed in heavy fighting near the northern Colombian border village of
Tibu.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez, who accompanied Davila, said he
understood the clashes took place on a road in Colombia 10 miles (16 km) from the
Venezuelan border. But he complained that the Colombian army had not given the
Venezuelan military details about the fighting.

Venezuela insists the border area is secure, but the U.S. government has warned its
citizens to avoid traveling within 50 miles (80 km) of the Venezuelan frontier with
Colombia because of the risk of kidnapping by Colombian "terrorist groups."

    Copyright 2002 Reuters.