Chavez reviews Colombia ties after Interpol report

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez onThursday warned he was reviewing ties and commerce withColombia after an Interpol report authenticated rebel documentsthat Bogota says prove the leftist has supported guerrillas.

Accusations based on the files are reheating tensions aftera March diplomatic crisis in the Andean region, where Colombiahas become Washington's staunchest ally and Venezuela andEcuador are among the fiercest critics of U.S. policies.

Colombia, which along with the United States labels theFARC terrorists, seized the laptops in a March raid on a rebelcamp inside Ecuador that killed a guerrilla leader and brieflyraised fears of border clashes among the three neighbours.

International police agency Interpol said earlier onThursday the FARC documents were real and showed no tampering,but also said it could not verify the contents. Chavezdismisses Bogota's charges as U.S.-backed propaganda.

"They keep on assaulting us and this shameful show todaywas a new act of aggression," Chavez told a news conference inCaracas after the Interpol announcement in Colombia.

The self-styled socialist said Venezuela did not needColombian imports though the Andean neighbour is one itslargest trading partners and accounts for much of its foodimports.

The international police agency's conclusion reinforcedColombian and U.S. charges the files show Venezuela has backedthe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

But Interpol's acknowledgment that it did not verify thefiles' contents leaves open to debate whether they tie Chavezto Latin America's oldest insurgency.

Responding from Lima, where Latin American leaders meetthis week for a Latin America EU summit, Uribe said theInterpol report proved Colombia had acted correctly.

"Its conclusion is clear about how honestly the Colombianauthorities have acted" he said.

VIDEOS, PHOTOGRAPHS, SPREADSHEETS

Dozens of Interpol investigators scoured a selection ofwhat were the equivalent of 40 million Microsoft Word pages,including videos, photographs, data spreadsheets and nearly1,000 encrypted files.

Handing Interpol the evidence was meant to add credibilityto the charges, said Phillip McLean, a former U.S. diplomat nowat the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"But the computers give only one side of a conversation,i.e.: the FARC's. Intelligence analysts will find itfascinating, but it would be hard to call what comes out'proof,'" McLean said.

Colombian police say the archives show Chavez offeredfinancial aid to the rebels and that Ecuador's leader RafaelCorrea also allowed them to hide across his frontier. U.S.officials say documents reveal the rebels' deep ties.

"There are serious allegations about Venezuela supplyingarms and support to a terrorist organization," U.S. StateDepartment spokesman Sean McCormack said.

U.S. officials often portray Chavez as a threat to regionalstability as he promotes his socialist revolution. The formersoldier says the White House plots with Colombia to oust him.

Chavez and Correa say contacts with rebels were made onlyas part of mediation efforts to free rebel hostages.

The documents have prompted calls in the U.S. Congress forsanctions against Venezuela, a key U.S. oil supplier.Republican Rep. Connie Mack of Florida said the Interpol reportshowed the need for a tougher line with Chavez.

But experts said with oil prices hovering around recordhighs in a presidential election year, Washington was notexpected to take a tougher line or apply sanctions without moreconcrete evidence against Chavez.

(Additional reporting by Frank Daniel in Caracas; Editingby Saul Hudson and Eric Walsh)