Updated

A Colombian official said a four-day incursion by Venezuelan troops may have been linked to Colombia's call for elections in the troubled South American nation.

Some 60 Venezuelan soldiers crossed the border into Colombia Monday night and raised their national flag in a camp they set up.

They withdrew Thursday after President Juan Manuel Santos called his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro to protest.

A Colombian official briefed on the call described it as tense. He said that during the conversation Maduro complained about Santos' support for a diplomatic intervention by the Organization of American States to restore Venezuela's democratic order.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the call.

Santos has generally refrained from criticizing Venezuela as forcefully as other regional leaders.