FACTBOX - Military power in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador

(Reuters) - A crisis is growing in the Andean region with Ecuador and Venezuela breaking off diplomatic ties with Bogota after Colombian troops killed a top rebel in Ecuador. Here are some facts about the dispute:

* With 178,000 soldiers, Colombia's army is more than twice the size of the Venezuelan and Ecuadorean armies combined. Colombian troops and police are experienced fighting rebels, paramilitaries and drug traffickers. U.S. trainers and billions of dollars in aid from Washington have bolstered their military intelligence and combat capabilities.

* Aided by soaring oil prices, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has spent heavily on military hardware recently. After Washington blocked arms sales to Caracas, Chavez purchased Russian-made Sukhoi high-performance fighter jets, attack helicopters and 100,000 new AK-103 rifles.

* Analysts say most of Venezuela's fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighters is not fully operational after Washington banned sales of spare parts and upgrades. Its pilots are still training on the new Russian jet fighters.

Sources: Jane's The Military Balance 2006, www.globalsecurity.org, Reuters.

(Reporting by Spanish language desk, Patrick Markey in Bogota)