Venezuelan Foreign Minister disputes US State Department human rights report 

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton Matos has reacted negatively to the US State Department annual human rights report. Stating emphatically that there is no violation of human rights in Venezuela, Chaderton Matos admits mistakes have been made but there is a public debate. 

"Reports by certain international judges must be taken with caution, especially when they touch on such delicate matters as violence." 

Replying as Venezuelan Ministers are wont to do, the Foreign Minister hits out at" levels of influence" in many countries that promote themselves as the judges of other countries' conduct ... "we have to live with that and express our disagreement when there are motives to do so." 

Venezuela, Chaderton Matos comments, could draw up a human rights report on other countries but it would not be the right moment since the world is in the middle of a war. 

The US State Department report highlights documented summary killings  (by Venezuelan police forces) that have gone unpunished, cases of torture in prison and generalized police abuses.