No plans in Venezuela, U.S. says

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- The Venezuelan military shouldn't be on alert because of any concerns about U.S. action, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned he would cut oil supplies to the United States if Washington intervened in a row between his country and neighboring Colombia.

Chavez broke ties with Colombia last week after the Bogota government accused him of harboring guerrillas with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Washington, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, takes allegations about the presence of FARC guerrillas on Venezuelan soil serious.

"These are serious charges," he said, "they deserve to be fully investigated and we support a transparent international process to investigate these charges and get to the bottom of them."

The spokesman added direct engagement between the two countries was the approach preferred by Washington.

Chavez, for his part, accused U.S. "Yankees" of advancing a legacy of military intervention in the region.

Crowley brushed off the concerns from the Venezuelan president by saying Washington had no military ambitions in the region.

"We have no intention of engaging a military action against Venezuela," he said.