Chavez again to seek hostage release

Chavez said he spoken by telephone with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and offered to "try to make contact" with the rebels. Sarkozy's campaign for the freedom of French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt so far has been unsuccessful.

"I'm going to try to do whatever possible to free not only Ingrid Betancourt, but all the people who are in the hands of the FARC," Chavez said during a meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates.

Betancourt was kidnapped while campaigning for Colombia's presidency six years ago.

Chavez used his contacts with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to mediate the release of several hostages in recent months.

But he said that his links to the rebels were severed when a Colombian raid killed a FARC leader, Raul Reyes, on March 1.

Colombian officials say documents found on Reyes' computers, seized in the raid, exposed years of close cooperation between Chavez and the guerrilla group that finances itself partly through kidnappings and drug trafficking. Chavez has vehemently denied the charges.

Venezuela is "not a menace," Chavez said on Wednesday. "We're trying to combat terrorism."

Colombian officials have asked experts from the international police agency Interpol to inspect the computers and determine if the documents are genuine.