Colombia warned its forces were on "maximum alert" and were prepared to defend against any attack, amid rising tensions with neighboring Venezuela.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will not be provoked into armed conflict with Venezuela despite its neighbor's aggressive rhetoric and dynamiting of two border bridges, Colombia's defense minister said on Friday.

SAN ANTONIO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday blew up two makeshift foot bridges that stretched across the border to Colombia in the latest incident to stoke a diplomatic dispute between the Andean neighbors.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling a meeting of eight Amazon countries next week to forge a common stand ahead of next month's key climate talks, officials said Friday.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia captured four members of the Venezuelan National Guard on Colombian soil and said on Saturday it would send them home in a gesture aimed at lowering diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries.

Colombia detains 4 Venezuelan national guard troops, plans repatriation to calm relations. Four soldiers from Venezuela's National Guard captured in Colombian territory will be repatriated in a bid to ease tensions between the South American neighbors, President Alvaro Uribe's government said Saturday.

They arrived before dawn for a glimpse of him, traveling from Maynard, Boston, and even Connecticut. A white-haired man held a sign in Spanish saying ``four more years.'' Another man, wrapped in a flag, grew teary-eyed at the mention of his name. Hundreds of Colombians poured into East Boston High School's auditorium early yesterday morning to greet President Álvaro Uribe, who has achieved folk hero status in this immigrant enclave for reducing violent crime in the South American nation, and for taking a hard line against drug trafficking and terrorism. Dressed in a blue-striped shirt and wire-rimmed glasses, the graying leader hardly cut a dramatic figure as he stopped in Boston last week on an official visit to the United States. But the sight of him inspired Colombians to climb onto the wooden seats to snap photographs and chant his name. ``I don't have the words to describe the feeling,'' said Rubiel Patiño, a 50-year-old painter who lives in Maynard and traveled to Boston to see U

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian rebels said on Sunday they will free two hostages in a unilateral gesture that could set the stage for a comprehensive exchange of prisoners held by both sides in the country's 45-year-old guerrilla war.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia said on Tuesday it has evidence that Colombian Marxist rebels are camped inside neighboring Ecuador, and asked leftist President Rafael Correa to take action against the drug-running guerrillas.

Renowned Colombian journalist says he's heading to Europe after failed assassination attempt. A Colombian radio journalist famed for broadcasting relatives' messages to kidnap victims says he's leaving the country because of an apparent attempt on his life.

Thousands of indigenous people have taken to the streets in southwestern Colombia to protest President Alvaro Uribe's environmental policies and his alleged broken promises to their communities.

Tens of thousands of indigenous people took to the streets across Latin America to protest the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's 1492 discovery of the Americas.

Tens of thousands of indigenous people took to the streets across Latin America on Monday to protest the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's 1492 discovery of the Americas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama faced increased pressure on Thursday to win approval of a free trade deal with South Korea after the European Union locked up its own pact with Asia's third-largest market.

Puerto Rico mayor cancels Calle 13 concert after lead singer insults island's governor. Puerto Rican officials said Saturday they have canceled a concert featuring Grammy-winning band Calle 13 after the group's lead singer insulted the governor and other Latin American politicians during an MTV awards show.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A Colombian mayor canceled a Calle 13 concert on Monday after the lead singer for the Puerto Rican rappers wore a T-shirt appearing to link President Alvaro Uribe to illegal paramilitaries.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil wants to forge a common position among all Amazon basin countries for a global climate summit later this year, the country's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said on Monday.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian prosecutors have reopened a probe into Vice President Francisco Santos over charges by a former paramilitary boss that he had sought to organize outlawed militias, an investigator said on Monday.

Prosecutor reopens prelim probe into Colombian VP's meetings with far-right militias. Colombia's acting chief prosecutor is reopening a preliminary investigation into Vice President Francisco Santos over meetings the politician held with far-right militia leaders as a journalist.

Nicaragua court says President Ortega can seek re-election; opposition in uproar. Leftist President Daniel Ortega appears to have won the right to seek re-election in 2011, though opponents call the decision illegal and are vowing to fight it.