Venezuela Raps U.S. Ambassador for 'Provocation'

Thu May 15, 2003 08:04 PM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Venezuela's government on Thursday sharply criticized U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro for hosting an event at his official Caracas residence during which an impersonator used a puppet to ridicule President Hugo Chavez.

Senior Venezuelan officials heaped criticism on the ambassador, calling him irresponsible. But they made clear they did not want the incident to affect ties with Washington.

The U.S. embassy issued a statement saying "We regret if anyone felt offended." But it added the ambassador could not be held responsible for what any of his guests had said or done.

Venezuela, the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter, is a leading supplier of oil to the United States.

Relations between the Bush administration and the government of left-winger Chavez have been strained on several occasions in the past and the Venezuelan leader has fiercely criticized U.S. policies such as the invasion of Iraq.

Some members of Chavez's government have accused the United States of supporting a coup that briefly toppled the Venezuelan president last year but Washington has repeatedly denied this.

"What we have here is an irresponsible U.S. ambassador," Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told a news conference. In a sharp public rebuke of the U.S. envoy, he said the incident could be interpreted as "a provocation."

"WITCHES' SABBATH"

Shapiro hosted an event at his residence on Tuesday marking International Press Freedom Day during which he expressed concern over what he said were growing threats against press freedom in Venezuela.

The event was broadcast on local television and was attended by several anti-Chavez media personalities. It ended with the appearance of a male comedian dressed as a Venezuelan female media broadcaster and carrying a large puppet wearing a red beret representing the Venezuelan president.

"As a citizen and diplomat, I am surprised and horrified by this media witches' sabbath held at the home (of the ambassador) of a friendly country in Caracas," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton said in a statement from Russia, where he was visiting.

The U.S. embassy statement said: "Part of the (comedian's) presentation seemed in bad taste to us because of its political content." But it stressed that the ambassador in his speech had spoken about the importance of press freedom in a democracy.

Foes of Chavez accuse him of ruling like a dictator and of trying to install Cuba-style communism, including seeking to restrict freedom of expression by media hostile to him.

Pro-government deputies at the National Assembly drafted a motion calling on the ambassador to make a public apology for what they called his "unfriendly action."

Since being elected in 1998, former paratrooper Chavez has irritated the United States by strengthening Venezuela's relations with states viewed as hostile by Washington, such as communist Cuba, Iran, Libya and Iraq, and by condemning the U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.