Colombia has taken what it called threats of war from neighbouring Venezuela to the UN Security Council after Hugo Chavez, leader of the neighbouring country, told his army to get ready to fight.
For months Mr Chavez has said that a military pact signed in October between Bogota and Washington could set the stage for a US invasion of Venezuela from Colombian territory.
The United States and Colombia dismiss that idea, saying their cooperation is aimed strictly at combating drug traffickers and Marxist insurgents within Colombia.
During a televised address on Sunday, Mr Chavez ordered his military to prepare for war as the best way to preserve peace.
Colombia responded with a letter to the UN Security Council "about Venezuela's threats of using force against Colombia," a foreign ministry statement said, asking that the letter be distributed to all members of the council.
The formal complaint could further anger Mr Chavez, the fiery leftist revolutionary who once called former US president George W Bush "the devil".
"We've handed over a letter explaining in detail concerns Colombia has about remarks by President Chavez and other sensitive matters," Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said at an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Singapore.
"We have always said the door for dialogue is open... we have still not had any contact," he said.
Recriminations have increased recently, with Colombia accusing Mr Chavez of not helping to combat drug-running rebels hiding out on Venezuela's side of the border and Chavez characterising Colombia as a lap-dog of the US "empire".
"Prepare yourselves for war," Mr Chavez told his military commanders during his regular Sunday TV program. "If you want peace you have to be ready for war."
He has since softened his rhetoric, and yesterday said the media had manipulated his words.
"Venezuela's military is pacifist," he said, adding that all nations use their armies to defend against invasion.
The spat is unlikely to lead to armed conflict along the lengthy border separating the countries. But the tensions have reduced bi-lateral trade, which amounted to more than $7 billion last year.
Both Mr Chavez and Colombian president Alvaro Uribe tend to get domestic political mileage out of the verbal sparring.
Washington sees Mr Uribe as a buffer against Mr Chavez and other leftists in the region such as President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, which also shares a border with Colombia.
Reuters