Venezuela and Ecuador sent troops to their borders with Colombia and downgraded diplomatic ties after their Andean neighbor bombed Colombian rebels inside Ecuador in an attack Caracas said could spark a war.

Escalating the worst dispute in the region for years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez deployed tanks to the frontier and mobilized warplanes, while Ecuador's President Rafael Correa bolstered Ecuador's military presence along the border.

Chavez ordered Venezuela's embassy in Bogota to be shut indefinitely from yesterday and withdrew all of his diplomats.