knotty
02-21-2006, 05:43 PM
Hugo Chavez to Condi Rice: 'Don't mess with me, girl'
CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched a new verbal attack against US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, bluntly warning her: "Don't mess with me, girl."
Chavez has taken potshots at Rice since she called last week for an international "united front" against Venezuela and described the leftist leader as a "challenge to democracy" in Latin America.
Chavez fired back last week by calling Rice "the imperial lady," and on Sunday deliberately mangled her name as "Condolencia," Spanish for "Condolences."
"She messed with me again," he said in his weekly "Hello President" television show. Chavez blew a kiss to the chief US diplomat, but added: "Don't mess with me, girl."
Chavez has responded to US criticism with verbal attacks, but also by threatening to cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington went too far campaigning against his government.
He has called
President George W. Bush "Mr. Danger" and a "jerk." In 2004, Chavez had dismissed Rice as a "true illiterate" after she accused him of not playing a constructive role in Latin America.
While Washington often dismisses Chavez for excessive and provocative rhetoric, the Americans have kept up their end of the war of words.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this month likened Chavez's rise to power to that of Germany's Nazi leader Adolf ******.
US-Venezuelan relations have deteriorated since Chavez was elected seven years ago. He frequently accuses Washington of plotting against him, and has charged it backed an aborted coup in 2002.
Relations hit a new low earlier this month when Caracas expelled a US naval attache on espionage charges, prompting Washington to retaliate by kicking a Venezuelan diplomat out of the United States.
Chavez vowed Sunday that Washington would fail in its bid to arouse international opinion against Caracas, and again accused the Bush administration of financing Venezuelan opposition groups.
"Venezuela is free and however much they may try to instigate internal movements here, we will defeat them," he said.
Despite the tension, Venezuela remains the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to its northern neighbor, selling it about 1.5 million barrels daily.
But Chavez warned Friday that he was taking steps to potentially cut off oil shipments to the United States if Washington "crosses the line."
Chavez, who did not clarify how Washington might incur such a sanction, apparently was reacting to Rice's remarks on Venezuela before the US Congress.
"I have to say that I've begun taking steps on the matter, but I won't tell you what they are," Chavez said Friday.
Last year, he had threatened to turn off the oil spigot to the United States if Washington did not stop the "aggressions" against his leftist government.
The only
OPEC member in Latin America, Venezuela currently produces some 3.2 million barrels of oil per day and the United States is its top buyer.
CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched a new verbal attack against US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, bluntly warning her: "Don't mess with me, girl."
Chavez has taken potshots at Rice since she called last week for an international "united front" against Venezuela and described the leftist leader as a "challenge to democracy" in Latin America.
Chavez fired back last week by calling Rice "the imperial lady," and on Sunday deliberately mangled her name as "Condolencia," Spanish for "Condolences."
"She messed with me again," he said in his weekly "Hello President" television show. Chavez blew a kiss to the chief US diplomat, but added: "Don't mess with me, girl."
Chavez has responded to US criticism with verbal attacks, but also by threatening to cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington went too far campaigning against his government.
He has called
President George W. Bush "Mr. Danger" and a "jerk." In 2004, Chavez had dismissed Rice as a "true illiterate" after she accused him of not playing a constructive role in Latin America.
While Washington often dismisses Chavez for excessive and provocative rhetoric, the Americans have kept up their end of the war of words.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this month likened Chavez's rise to power to that of Germany's Nazi leader Adolf ******.
US-Venezuelan relations have deteriorated since Chavez was elected seven years ago. He frequently accuses Washington of plotting against him, and has charged it backed an aborted coup in 2002.
Relations hit a new low earlier this month when Caracas expelled a US naval attache on espionage charges, prompting Washington to retaliate by kicking a Venezuelan diplomat out of the United States.
Chavez vowed Sunday that Washington would fail in its bid to arouse international opinion against Caracas, and again accused the Bush administration of financing Venezuelan opposition groups.
"Venezuela is free and however much they may try to instigate internal movements here, we will defeat them," he said.
Despite the tension, Venezuela remains the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to its northern neighbor, selling it about 1.5 million barrels daily.
But Chavez warned Friday that he was taking steps to potentially cut off oil shipments to the United States if Washington "crosses the line."
Chavez, who did not clarify how Washington might incur such a sanction, apparently was reacting to Rice's remarks on Venezuela before the US Congress.
"I have to say that I've begun taking steps on the matter, but I won't tell you what they are," Chavez said Friday.
Last year, he had threatened to turn off the oil spigot to the United States if Washington did not stop the "aggressions" against his leftist government.
The only
OPEC member in Latin America, Venezuela currently produces some 3.2 million barrels of oil per day and the United States is its top buyer.