Colombia to free captured Venezuelan soldiers

Colombia plans to send back home four members of the Venezuelan National Guard captured on its soil as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions between the two sides.

"They should carry the message that here there is affection for the brother people of Venezuela," Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Saturday, referring to the detained Venezuelan soldiers.

The Colombian navy intercepted the soldiers on Friday in El Aceitico along the border, according to a statement by Colombia's DAS intelligence agency.

The agency added that they were traveling in a boat, inside which Venezuelan military uniforms were found.

Relations between the South American neighbors have been strained recently over a military deal between Colombia and the US that gives the US military more access to Colombian bases.

Bogota and Washington say their military pact is limited to fighting drug-runners and rebels in Colombia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the agreement a threat to the whole region. Last week, he ordered his military to prepare for possible war with Colombia in case the US attempts to provoke one.

The leftist Venezuelan leader also called his Colombian counterpart a traitor who has signed over Colombian sovereignty to the imperial power of the US.