U.S. Ambassador in Venezuela Apologizes for Chavez Puppet Act

Caracas, May 16 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro apologized to the government for hosting a press conference that featured a female impersonator and a puppet of President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel yesterday called Shapiro ``irresponsible'' for having a press conference that ended with a performance in which the impersonator played a female Venezuelan television reporter talking to the puppet and mimicking Chavez's voice.

I apologize to those who were offended by that show,'' Shapiro said on Union radio. It was an act with very partisan political content.''

Relations between the U.S. and Chavez have been strained since he took office in 1999. A friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chavez also visited former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2000. Allies of Chavez have said the U.S. supported a failed two-day coup last year.

Rangel's press conference complaining about the puppet act was carried live yesterday on the state television station and Globovision. Shapiro's press conference, where he criticized Venezuela for suppressing freedom of expression, took place Tuesday at the ambassador's residence. Last Updated: May 16, 2003 14:06 EDT