Venezuela and Ecuador have punished Colombia for killing a rebel leader in the Ecuadorian jungle by expelling its diplomats, ordering troops to the border and cracking down on trade.

But Colombia quickly struck back, revealing what it said were incriminating documents seized from the rebel camp that suggested its neighbours had been secretly supporting the left-wing rebels' bloody uprising.

In a tit-for-tat move, Venezuela later displayed the laptop of a murdered drug trafficker, which it said contained information implicating Colombia's national police chief in the cocaine trade.