-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez froze diplomatic relations with Colombia late Tuesday , citing verbal aggressions from the neighboring South American country . Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro speaks to journalists on Monday in Caracas . The televised announcement followed declarations from the Colombian government Monday that anti-tank weapons purchased by Venezuela ended up in the hands of the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , known as the FARC . In addition , Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said the guerrillas were trying to buy anti-aircraft missiles . Venezuela received a shipment of Russian SA-24 Igla shoulder-fired missiles earlier this year and showed them off at military parade in April . Chavez recalled Venezuela 's ambassador to Colombia , as well as most of the embassy 's staff . `` Leave only the lowest functionaries , '' he said . Chavez also threatened to take over Colombian companies operating in Venezuela if Colombia offends Venezuela one more time . Colombia 's claims are `` mistaken , '' added Chavez , who called the country 's leaders `` irresponsible . '' There was no immediate reaction from the Colombian government . Tuesday 's developments came one day after Chavez signed a military agreement with Russia to buy enough BMP-3 armored fighting vehicles and T-72 tanks to double the nation 's inventory , according to the Jane 's Defense Weekly publication . Chavez said he will use the tanks in his `` Western Shield Plan '' on the border with Colombia . Tensions between the two countries have been high since March 2008 , when Chavez ordered tanks to the border in response to a Colombian attack on FARC bases in Ecuador . More recently , Chavez has severely criticized Uribe for entering into negotiations to allow the United States to open military bases in Colombia . The United States says it needs the bases because Ecuador has ordered the closing of a U.S. installation there . Chavez accuses the United States of wanting the bases so it can attack Venezuela . Analysts say Chavez 's actions toward Colombia are tied to his feelings toward the United States . `` Chavez hates the United States and he wants to lead a group of countries that do n't pay attention to the United States , '' said Myles Frechette , the U.S. ambassador to Colombia from 1994-97 . `` Uribe is a guy who is in tune with the United States . '' Frechette notes that `` Colombia and Venezuela have complementary economies '' and could sell more goods to each other under better conditions . Jennifer McCoy , director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center , makes the same point . `` It 's a conflict between two ideologies between two countries that are mutually dependent on each other , '' she said . The latest dust-up started Monday , when Colombia accused Venezuela of selling arms to the FARC . Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said army troops had found AT-4 shoulder-fired grenades in recent raids on jungle camps used by the FARC . `` This is not the first time that this happens , '' Santos said . `` In several operations in which we have recovered weapons from the FARC , we have found powerful munitions and powerful equipment , including anti-tank weapons , from a European country that sold them to Venezuela and that turned up in the hands of the FARC . '' The guerrillas were trying to buy anti-aircraft missiles , Uribe said . Analysts say that could change the guerrilla war 's dynamics . `` The AT-4 is much less of a heavy weapon , but surface-to-air missiles would give the FARC a much greater military capability , '' said Anna Gilmour , senior America 's analyst for the Jane 's Country Risk consultancy group . Uribe said Monday that must not be allowed to happen . `` The international community must help us , '' he said . `` These bandits have historically been able to rely on many sources for armaments . We have found out through intelligence that they are now looking to buy surface-to-air weapons to use against our airplanes . '' Venezuelan officials denied any involvement . `` To me it seems that this is a new attack against our government based on lies , '' Venezuelan Minister of the Interior and Justice Tareck El Aissami said at a news conference Monday . `` We absolutely deny that our government or our institutions are providing assistance to criminal and terrorist organizations . `` It 's laughable , it sounds like a cheap film made by the American government . '' Sweden probes ` serious incident ' Officials in Sweden , where the anti-tank weapons were made by Saab Bofors Dynamics , verified that the AT-4s were sold to Venezuela in the 1980s . Anders Jorle , Sweden 's foreign ministry spokesman , told CNN the government `` considers this as a serious incident '' and is investigating . `` We 've been in contact with Colombian and Venezuelan authorities to clarify how this happened , '' Jorle said Tuesday . `` The weapons were part of a lot sold to Venezuela 20 years ago . No weapons have been exported to Venezuela since 2006 . '' The Swedish Foreign Ministry added that the Swedish Inspectorate of Strategic Products , the authority responsible for checking weapon exports , will consider not selling any more weapons to Venezuela . The FARC most likely acquired the AT-4 grenade launchers in the past 18 months , said Jane 's analyst Gilmour . This is not the first time that Venezuela has been tied to the FARC , which has been fighting the Colombian government for more than 45 years . Last fall , the U.S. Treasury Department accused two senior Venezuelan intelligence officials and a former official of providing weapons to the FARC and assisting the rebels with narcotics trafficking . The U.S. identified one of the individuals as Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios , director of Venezuela 's Military Intelligence Directorate . Another individual was identified as Ramon Emilio Rodriguez Chacin , who was Venezuela 's Minister of Interior and Justice until September . Rodriguez Chacin was `` the Venezuelan government 's main weapons contact for the FARC , '' the Treasury Department said . `` The FARC uses its proceeds from narcotics sales to purchase weapons from the Venezuelan government . Rodriguez Chacin has held numerous meetings with senior FARC members , one of which occurred at the Venezuelan government 's Miraflores Palace in late 2007 . Rodriguez Chacin has also assisted the FARC by trying to facilitate a $ 250 million dollar loan from the Venezuelan government to the FARC in late 2007 . '' Computers recovered last year in the Colombian attack on the FARC base in Ecuador showed that `` Chavez has been heavily involved with the FARC , '' said Susan Kaufman Purcell , director of the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami . `` Chavez has been modeling himself more on what -LSB- former Cuban leader Fidel -RSB- Castro used to do in terms of helping insurgencies and destabilizing countries , '' Purcell said . Analysts point to Venezuela 's increasing militarization as a threat to stability . From 2005-07 , Venezuela bought $ 4.4 billion in weapons and military hardware , including 24 Sukhoi-24 aircraft , 50 combat helicopters and 100,000 AK-103 assault rifles , Gilmour said . Last year , Russia extended a $ 1 billion credit line for further acquisitions . `` Venezuela has been trying to frighten everyone in the region by buying Russian weapons , '' said former U.S. envoy Frechette . He said Chavez has become increasingly frustrated that he does n't always get his way , such as in his relations with Colombia . So he turns to the Russians . Analysts : Chavez role in military sales in question Chavez 's involvement in the sale of the anti-tank weapons to the FARC is open to discussion , though . `` The more interesting question is how they got there and whether Chavez had anything to do with it , '' Purcell said . Frechette agrees , saying , `` Nobody can say this was done by Chavez . '' The former envoy believes there 's a good chance that the sale was carried out by corrupt officers without Chavez 's involvement . `` Do n't underestimate the corruption in that country , '' he said , adding that some military officials might have `` discovered these things that have been sitting in a warehouse since the 1980s . '' Whether Venezuela would sell surface-to-air missiles also is open to discussion . Gilmour says Venezuela will want to safeguard its stockpile . `` Venezuela would not want any kind of seepage because the missiles were acquired so recently and Venezuela-Russia relations are pretty positive at the moment , '' she said . Purcell said Russia might not care , pointing out that `` Castro did all sorts of things that the Soviets did n't like '' but still kept supporting him for decades . `` Russia has a lot of different interests , '' she said . `` It 's not clear that they would walk away from the relationship . '' CNN 's Laura Perez Maestro and Mariano Castillo contributed to this report .