GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP):

Venezuelan soldiers on the border with Guyana allegedly shot and killed a Guyanese miner trying to smuggle cheap fuel back across a river separating the two countries, Guyana's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Local police reported Venezuelan National Guard members opened fire on the unidentified gold and diamond miner on Saturday morning, but additional details were not available.

Authorities have requested an explanation from the Venezuelan embassy and an investigation was under way, Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said.

"We are trying to get as many details on the incident as possible," Insanally said. "We can't act fully until we get all the facts."

Police said the man was believed to be smuggling fuel for his mining operations from the Venezuelan side when he was shot in the Cuyuni River. Gasolene costs as little as three U.S. cents (£0.03) a litre in Venezuela owing to government subsidies.

Venezuela has criticised the smuggling trade along its eastern border with Guyana, and miners on the other side have complained of harassment.

Venezuela has a long-standing claim to two-thirds of Guyana's land area, saying it was cheated out of the territory by a 1899 boundary commission involving British, Russian and American officials. Guyana has dismissed the claim.