U.S. Says Chavez Remarks Are 'Inflammatory'

reuters.com Mon February 24, 2003 03:18 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his government of using inflammatory rhetoric, possibly contributing to violence between opponents and supporters of the populist leader.

"Inflammatory statements such as those attributed to President Chavez are not helpful in advancing the dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the opposition," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

"We are concerned that heightened political rhetoric has contributed unnecessarily to some of the recent violence in Caracas," the spokesman added.

On Sunday Chavez warned the world to stop meddling in the affairs of his troubled South American nation and Venezuelan police locked up a strike leader on "civil rebellion" charges.

He accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies, warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations, and reprimanded the chief mediator in tortuous peace talks for stepping "out of line."

Last week he said he was going on the offensive against the "terrorists" and "fascists" who have defied him.

Reeker said: "What we ... remain concerned about is the government's rhetoric and some of the actions that have been undermining the dialogue process."

He said the United States continued to favor the dialogue mediated by Cesar Gaviria, the secretary-general of the of American States, who spent weeks in Venezuela trying to arrange an end to a strike by Chavez's opponents.

Opponents of the president, who they accuse of disregarding democracy and ruining the economy, are waging a campaign to pressure him into accepting elections.

The opposition strike, which fizzled out during the first week of February, severely disrupted the nation's oil exports in the world's No. 5 exporter. Oil exports account for half of state revenues and Venezuela's economy, already deep in recession, contracted by nearly 9 percent by the end of last year.

The Venezuelan government has fired more than 12,000 oil company employees who joined the strike. It is now using replacement workers to help restart the industry, undermining the opposition's campaign which Chavez charges is trying to drive him from office.

The United States complained on Thursday about the arrest of business leader Carlos Fernandez, the head of the Fedecamaras business chamber and one of the strike leaders.

Reeker added: "We would note that according to Venezuela's constitution, the judiciary, not the president, decides what charges to bring in criminal cases."