Chavez accuses US of military rebellion

President Hugo Chavez accused the U.S. on Wednesday of trying to spur a military rebellion, saying the CIA is behind the distribution of leaflets inside army barracks calling for his ouster.

Speaking to dozens of army officers at Venezuela's largest military base, Chavez urged soldiers to resist calls for a coup from "oligarchs and their imperialist masters," a reference to the United States.

"They will always try to divide us and confuse us to weaken us, and thereby dominate us," said Chavez, who weathered a short-lived coup in 2002.

Noting that leaflets calling for a rebellion have been circulating in army barracks recently, he said: "That's why they have the CIA."