Venezuela is withdrawing its ambassador from neighbouring Colombia and freezing relations, following a dispute over weapons supplied to Colombian rebels.
President Hugo Chavez, who announced the move on Venezuelan TV, also said he was halting trade deals with Colombia.
The announcement came a day after the Colombia government said weapons bought by Venezuela from Sweden had made their way to left-wing Farc guerrillas.
Mr Chavez denied this and accused Colombia of acting "irresponsibly".
"I’ve ordered to withdraw our ambassador from Bogota," the Venezuelan leader said on Tuesday. "We will freeze relations with Colombia," he added.
Mr Chavez said Venezuela would substitute imports from Colombia with goods from other countries, notably Brazil and Ecuador.
On Monday the Colombian government said its troops had recovered Swedish anti-tank weapons in a raid on a Farc camp. The Caracas government denied supplying them.
The Swedish authorities have launched an inquiry into how the Farc had acquired the weapons.
The Marxist rebels have been fighting the Bogota government since the 1960s.</p
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