Nov 1, 2001

US, Irked by Chavez, Recalls Envoy to Venezuela

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has recalled its ambassador to Venezuela to protest criticism by President Hugo Chavez of the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.

Chavez, during a nationally televised appearance on Monday, held up pictures of dead Afghan children in assailing what he described as a "slaughter of innocents" in the three-week air war on the terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker called Chavez's remarks "totally inappropriate."

Other officials said U.S. ambassador Donna Hrinak had been planning to return to the United States at the end of the week but that her timetable was advanced as a signal of displeasure with Chavez's remarks.

She is expected to return to Caracas on Nov. 7.

From the outset, Chavez has been an outspoken critic of the global war on terrorism that the administration announced shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

U.S. relations with Venezuela have been chilly since Chavez assumed power three years ago. He maintains close ties with Cuban President Fidel Castro and also visited Iraq last year for talks with President Saddam Hussein.

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On the Net:

State Department: http://www.state.gov

AP-ES-11-01-01 1813EST

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-- Anonymous, November 01, 2001