Colombia refutes Chavez, says it has no plans to attack Venezuela

(CNN) -- A spokesman for Colombia's president says the country has never had any intention of attacking Venezuela.

The comments came a day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was deploying troops toward the border in case of an invasion.

"It is a clear political deception of his own nation," Colombian presidential spokesman Cesar Mauricio Velasquez told reporters Saturday.

On Friday, Chavez said special forces were moving to 10 districts near the Colombian border to be prepared in case Colombian President Alvaro Uribe issues an invasion order before he leaves office August 7. He also said he was reviewing war plans as tensions between the two countries rises.

Colombia and Venezuela are at odds over accusations that leftist rebels have found refuge in Venezuela.

Colombia says it has photographic evidence of camps belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by its Spanish abbreviation, FARC -- in Venezuela. Colombia made its case before the Organization of American States earlier this month and asked for international observers to be allowed into Venezuela to verify the presence of the guerrilla group.

Venezuela denied the accusations, and in response broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia.
On Friday, Chavez told VTV that the Colombian government's accusations "have become a threat against our sovereignty, [against] our people and against the revolution."

Chavez said surveys by the Venezuelan National Guard have proven that rebel camps do not exist within the country's borders.

He accused Colombian officials and right-wing paramilitary units of plotting his assassination, while the Colombian government has accused Chavez of supporting the rebels.