Venezuela Moves Troops to Border

Hundreds of Venezuelan troops moved toward the border of Colombia, where trade was slowing amid heightening tension over Colombia's cross-border strike on a rebel base in Ecuador.The Organization of American States scheduled an emergency afternoon meeting in Washington to try to calm one of the region's worst political showdowns in years, pitting U.S. backed Colombia against Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez and his allies. Colombian and Ecuadorean officials, meanwhile, traded accusations in the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. The escalation of tensions was triggered over the weekend when Colombia troops crossed the border with Ecuador and killed Raul Reyes, a top commander of the Colombian FARC rebels who had set up a camp there.

Venezuela Stops Selling to Exxon Mobil

Venezuela's state oil company said Tuesday that it has stopped selling crude to Exxon Mobil Corp. and has suspended commercial relations with the U.S. based oil company. State run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said in a statement that it "has paralyzed sales of crude to Exxon Mobil." It said the decision was made "as an act of reciprocity" for the company's "judicial-economic harassment." President Hugo Chavez has shaken oil markets this week with broader threats to cut off oil supplies to the United States.