Truemors
Caracas, Venezuela, 11 September 2008. In reaction to the recent expulsion of the Bolivian Ambassador to Washington, Venezuelan President decided to expel US diplomatic representative in Caracas. Speaking from Puerto Cabello, President Chavez gave the US Ambassador 72 hours to leave the country. Chavez made the announcement at 7:15 PM Venezuelan time. President Chavez also announced the revision of the bilateral relation between Caracas and Washington. Finally, Chavez made the Bush administration responsible for the future of the oil commerce between the US and Venezuela. Venezuelan Ambassador to US, Bernardo Alvarez, was recalled to Caracas.
Earlier today, the Venezuelan government unveiled a new plan of the opposition and rightist military to overthrow President Chavez. It accused the US for backing conspirators. Yesterday, three Russian military planes arrived in Venezuela to conduct joint operations. Such moved irked both the national and international opposition to the Chavez´s administration and its multi-polar foreign policy.
The move by Chavez brings relations with Washington to a new low and raises questions about whether the diplomatic clash could eventually hurt trade. Venezuela is a major oil supplier to the United States, which is the country's No. 1 client. Chavez announced the decision during a televised speech, hours after saying his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him. Chavez accused the group of current and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States.... Asked about Chavez's remarks, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Jennifer Rahimi said: "We saw the speech and we're investigating, but we haven't seen anything official." Chavez warned last month that Duddy could soon be "packing his bags" after the diplomat lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in the war on drugs. Duddy has said that deteriorating diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington were giving drug smugglers the upper hand.
Sources: YVKE, VTV, RNV, Globovison, BBC Mundo, Telesur,
Related stories: US expels Bolivian Ambassador to Washington (updated), Venezuelan gov unveils new coup plan (Updated II), Bolivia: US ambassador persona non grata (updated), President Chávez calls for better U.S.-Venezuela relations, Venezuela: No anti-drugs pact with US, Chavez: US spies on Venezuela, Venezuela denounces US invasion of its air space at Caribbean Islands (updated)
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