MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil Offers to mediate the Colombia-Venezuela rift.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offered to intercede in a political rift between Colombia and Venezuela during a meeting Wednesday near the Amazon River with his Colombian counterpart.

Brazil's foreign minister, Celso Amorim, speaking after the conference in the jungle town of Leticia, said his country would not consider itself a "mediator" because that term is for what he called more intense conflicts.

But the dispute over the capture inside Venezuela of a Colombian rebel leader has become the most contentious in decades between the neighbors with Venezuela vowing to freeze commercial relations until Colombia apologizes.

It erupted after a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was abducted by bounty hunters last month and brought back to Colombia. Colombian officials acknowledged they paid the bounty.

Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco declined to say if President Alvaro Uribe would accept Silva's offer, but added that such efforts are "improving" the chances for a swift resolution.

The Venezuelan government said Tuesday it would accept a Brazilian role in the dispute.

Earlier, Mexican officials said they had offered to mediate the Colombia-Venezuela rift but had not received a reply from either country.

After a series of heated exchanges, some Colombian and Venezuelan leaders were adopting a more conciliatory tone this week.

Uribe has refused to apologize and initially defended his right to hunt down "narcoterrorists" and accused Chavez of harboring Marxist rebels. However, he softened his stance on Wednesday. "The only thing we feel for Venezuela is affection and our interest with Venezuela is to have a constructive and positive relationship."

Colombian Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said the Uribe administration still plans to send the Venezuelan government detailed proof that Colombian guerrillas are hiding in Venezuelan territory. The documents include maps identifying the location of rebel camps and will be delivered within days, Pretelt told local radio.

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Wednesday that Venezuela would like to see the proof, and that if the Colombian government cannot provide it, then it is "a big liar."

Wednesday's summit in Leticia, a jungle town renowned as a center for bird watching 685 miles southeast of the Colombian capital, Bogota, lasted several hours. Besides Venezuela, the two discussed trade, drug trafficking, infrastructure development near their border and ecotourism