The US state department has
dismissed claims by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that Washington is
planning to kill him as "ridiculous and untrue". "The idea that we were
out to get the president of Venezuela is just plain wrong," spokesman
Richard Boucher said. Mr Chavez made the allegation on Sunday during
his weekly TV show, although he gave no evidence to back it up. He said
any attempt on his life would backfire and threatened to cut off oil
supplies to the US. "If they kill me, the name of the person
responsible is [President] George Bush," Mr Chavez said. "If, by the
hand of the devil, those perverse plans succeed... forget about
Venezuelan oil, Mr Bush," he added. He was apparently reacting to
growing criticism by top US officials of his left-wing government. US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently described the former
paratrooper as a "negative force" in Latin America, while CIA chief
Porter Goss said Venezuela was a possible source of instability in the
region. Washington accuses Mr Chavez of being heavy-handed towards
Venezuela's opposition, and has recently criticised Caracas for arms
purchases from Russia. Mr Boucher told reporters that the US wanted to
look at "various policy issues that we have with the government of
Venezuela". "We have to be concerned about these aspects of Venezuelan
behaviour because they are disruptive to the region and we need to
address them," he said. Venezuela is one of the world's leading oil
exporters - it sells about 1.5 million barrels a day to the US.
Diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas have soured since Mr
Chavez came to power in 1999. [more]