UPDATE 1-Colombia moves to calm tensions with Venezuela

* Colombia says to deport four Venezuelan national guards

* Uribe sends the four home with message of "affection"

* Good neighbor gesture contrasts with Chavez war talk (Adds location of capture in paragraph 4)

By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Colombia captured four members of the Venezuelan National Guard on Colombian soil and said on Saturday it would send them home in a gesture aimed at lowering diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez last week ordered his army to prepare for war, warning that a new U.S.-Colombia military cooperation agreement could set the stage for an invasion of Venezuela. Bogota and Washington dismiss the claim, saying their pact is limited to fighting drug-runners and rebels in Colombia.

"They should carry back the message that here there is brotherly affection for Venezuela and that affection is unbreakable," said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, referring to the Venezuelans captured on Friday.

The four were stopped by the Colombian Navy while traveling by boat on a river in the border province of Vichada.

The long-simmering spat between conservative Uribe and leftist Chavez has reduced bi-lateral trade, which amounted to more than $7 billion last year, and increased tension along a border already beset by the smuggling of drugs and other contraband. But analysts are not predicting war.