Venezuela says no troop build-up in Colombia spat

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Tuesday it had not sent extra troops to the border with Colombia in a dispute over leftist rebels, contradicting an earlier army statement it deployed close to 1,000 National Guard soldiers.

On Monday, Franklin Marquez, a regional commander for the National Guard, told reporters about 1,000 members of that force had arrived over the weekend along the 1,375-mile (2,200-km) long frontier.

But on Tuesday, a government statement quoted Marquez as saying there had been no reinforcement.

"There has not been any type of reinforcement, no military contingency and our personnel is the same as we have worked with all year," the general said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia last week, bringing the countries' troubled relations to a new low after Bogota alleged that Venezuela allowed leftist Colombian rebels to operate bases there.

Venezuela said on Tuesday it will present a peace plan this week aimed at ending the bitter dispute, but its Andean neighbor belittled any suggestion of talks with the guerrillas at the heart of the crisis.

(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; editing by Mohammad Zargham)