Caracas: Venezuela has reinforced its border with Colombia with more troops after three Venezuelan soldiers died in an attack by an armed group over the weekend, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Monday.

A pedestrian walks across the Simon Bolivar Bridge from Colombia into San Antonio Del Tachira, Venezuela. Credit:Bloomberg

Ten other soldiers were injured in the attack in Amazonas state, which Padrino said was retribution for Venezuela's capture of "nine Colombian paramilitary members," the latest sign of worsening relations between the South American neighbours.

"We will find the paramilitaries wherever they are," Padrino said in a statement on state television. "For now I say to them: leave Venezuela. There is no space here. There has never been any space here for you."

He did not specify how many more troops had been sent to the border. The injured soldiers were not in critical condition, Padrino said.