Colombia accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez today of funding Marxist rebels on its soil, intensifying a dispute that has prompted Mr Chavez to send tanks and troops to the border.
A three-nation crisis has erupted since Colombia moved troops into Ecuador at the weekend in a bombing raid that killed a top Colombian rebel leader in his jungle camp.
It was a major blow to the Farc, Latin America's oldest guerrilla group, but Mr Chavez mobilized his military and warned US-backed Colombia it could start a war if it also struck inside Venezuela.
Colombia's police chief, Genaral Oscar Naranjo, said documents found at the Farc camp in Ecuador showed evidence that Mr Chavez gave the rebels $300 million and had suggested a deal to supply them with old rifles.
General Naranjo said the documents also revealed ties between the rebel leader, Raul Reyes, and a representative of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa's leftist government.
"This unmasks the relations of the Farc with a series of governments, with a series of personalities, some public, some more sinister," Naranjo said, adding that the rebel group also talked about buying of a batch of uranium.
Mr Chavez recently negotiated the release of six hostages held by the Farc and his government rejected Colombia's allegations today. Mr Correa also responded angrily.
"They said we had a pact with terrorists, and that is completely false," he said during a Cabinet meeting in Quito. "We are dealing with an extremely cynical government."
Mr Correa has sent thousands of troops to the border with Colombia and threatened to escalate the diplomatic fight after expelling Colombia's ambassador on Sunday.
But Colombia said it would not send extra troops to its frontiers with Venezuela and Ecuador. Nor did it take any steps to downgrade diplomatic ties.