Don't touch Venezuela, US told

2004-03-08 07:35

Caracas, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez on Sunday vowed to freeze oil exports to the United States and wage a "100-year war" if Washington ever tried to invade Venezuela.

America has repeatedly denied ever trying to overthrow Chavez, but the leftist leader has accused Washington of being behind a failed 2002 coup and of funding opposition groups now seeking a recall referendum on his presidency.

Chavez accused the US of ousting former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and warned Washington not to "even think about trying something similar in Venezuela".

Venezuela "has enough allies on this continent to start a 100-year war", Chavez said during his weekly television show.

He added that "US citizens could forget about ever getting Venezuelan oil", if the United States ever tried to invade the South American country.

Rocky relationship

Venezuela accounts for about 15 percent of US oil imports but relations between the two countries are rocky over Chavez's friendship with Cuban President Fidel Castro, his criticism of US-led negotiations for a free trade zone in the Americas, and his opposition to the war in Iraq.

The United States was slow to condemn the 2002 coup, initially accusing Chavez of provoking his own downfall.

Chavez has increasingly railed against US meddling in Venezuelan affairs as his opponents step up protests to demand the recall vote.

On Saturday, at least 500 000 Venezuelans marched in Caracas to protest the National Elections Council's decision last week that an opposition petition for the recall vote lacked enough valid signatures. Opponents turned in more than three million signatures on December 19 but the council ruled only 1.8 million were valid. The council ordered more than one million citizens to confirm they signed and rejected more than 140 000 signatures outright.

Rioting over the decision killed eight people and hurt scores more. The violence subsided after the Organisation of American States and the US-based Carter Centre pledged to help give citizens a fair chance to prove they signed.

Impoverished

Venezuela is deeply divided between those who fear Chavez is trying to impose Cuba-style socialism and those who say he has given an unprecedented political voice to the impoverished majority.

Chavez insists election officials have reason to believe the recall petition is fraud-ridden. He claims many signatures belong to dead people, minors and foreigners.

On Sunday, Chavez promised his government would investigate the deaths and injuries from last week's violence.

"The government is investigating all the acts of violence and especially those in which people died," Chavez said. "Violence only takes place when a group of the opposition leaders decide there will be violence."

- AP