BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia's leading rebel group offered to fight for Venezuela if the United States invades the neighbouring country.

"Count on us if the hawks of Washington come to attack the brave people, those who embody the hopes of our continent in their revolution," said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, in a statement addressed to the Venezuelan communist party's congress.

The FARC has been fighting the government and far-right paramilitaries for more than four decades.

Colombian officials and politicians in the past have accused the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of aiding the rebels by not tightening security along their 2,219 kilometres (1,380 miles) of border. Army generals have said that FARC rebels have camps inside Venezuela, from which they have launched attacks on the Colombian military.

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