Bogota, Mar 5: Bogota must tread lightly as any isolated incident could trigger a war with Venezuela and Ecuador, which have flexed their military muscles since Bogota raided a guerrilla camp inside Ecuador, Colombian analysts and former officials say.

Flanked by Ecuador to the south and Venezuela to the north, Colombia drew the ire of its leftist-led neighbours after Saturday's incursion, in which its forces killed a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa and Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, broke off ties with Bogota and kicked Colombia's ambassadors out of their capitals after the raid.

"Colombia must be extremely prudent in this situation and cannot fall into the trap of Hugo Chavez, who wants to create an incident to go into war," general Jose Bonet, the former head of Colombia's armed forces, said on Tuesday.

"The danger is double because the guerrillas, allies of Venezuela who have an interest in expanding the conflict to neighbouring countries, could also provoke skirmishes on the border with Caracas," Bonet said.

For years, the Marxist FARC, which according to the Colombian government number between 6,000 and 8,000, have used Venezuela and Ecuador as rear bases to escape Colombian military attacks.

The rebels are eager to regionalize their four-decade-old conflict with Bogota, experts said. The Colombian military's killing of FARC number two Raul Reyes on Saturday inside Ecuador was the heaviest blow it ever dealt against its foes.