Caracas, Aug 25 (Prensa Latina) Tensions between Caracas and Bogota are rising after Colombia signed a defence pact with Washington to set up US military bases in Colombia, officials said.

Although the details of the agreement were not made public yet, a statement issued by the US embassy in Bogota said Monday it would enable the US soldiers to move freely in the country. Earlier the US soldiers were required to stay put in their respective bases.

Venezuela has criticised Bogota for allowing the US to set up bases in that country. It considers the move as part of US' plan to gain control of the region.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said recently that he would present a document at the upcoming South American (UNASUR) summit which will reveal the US plan.

Chavez said it is not about fighting drug trafficking or terrorism, as US and Colombian authorities are claiming, but a plan to gain control of the vast mineral rich South America.

He said he would raise the issue at the UNASUR meeting Aug 29 in Argentina.