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Venezuela President Hugo Chavez - Source: ONE News
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said his US counterpart Barack
Obama was at best an ignoramus for saying the socialist leader
exported terrorism and obstructed progress in Latin America.
"He goes and accuses me of exporting terrorism: the least I can say
is that he's a poor ignoramus; he should read and study a little to
understand reality," said Chavez, who heads a group of left-wing
Latin American leaders opposed to the US influence in the
region.
Chavez said Obama's comments had made him change his mind about
sending a new ambassador to Washington, after he withdrew the
previous envoy in a dispute last year with the Bush administration
in which he also expelled the US ambassador to Venezuela.
"When I saw Obama saying what he said, I put the decision back in
the drawer; let's wait and see," Chavez said on his weekly
television show, adding he had wanted to send a new ambassador to
improve relations with the United States after the departure of
George Bush as president.
In a January interview with Spanish-language US network Univision,
Obama said Chavez had hindered progress in Latin America, accusing
him of exporting terrorist activities and supporting Colombian
guerrillas.
"My, what ignorance; the real obstacle to development in Latin
America has been the empire that you today preside over," said
Chavez, who is a fierce critic of US foreign policy.
In the 20th century the United States supported several armed
movements and coups in Latin America.
Chavez says Washington had a hand in a short-lived putsch
against him in 2002, which was initially welcomed by US
officials.
Chavez and Obama will both attend the Summit of the Americas in
Trinidad and Tobago next month. It is not known whether they will
meet.
Most of OPEC nation Venezuela's export income comes from oil it
sells to the United States, but Chavez has built stronger ties with
countries like China in an attempt to reduce dependence on his
northern neighbour.
Chavez expelled its US ambassador in September in a dispute over US
activities in his ally Bolivia, which also expelled its US
ambassador.
Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa this year kicked out a mid-ranking US diplomat.
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