US, Venezuela tensions rise over Honduras crisis

Leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ratcheted up his anti-US rhetoric three weeks into the Honduran crisis, dampening hopes for rapprochement between oil trading partners who have been bitter diplomatic rivals. Chavez initially blamed Washington for the June 28 ouster of his leftist ally, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, but then toned down his noisy campaign to demonize the United States in Latin America, as US President Barack Obama was praised for his quick actions to condemn the military coup.

The rhetorical ceasefire between the rival capitals ended last week as the crisis dragged on without Zelaya’s return. Frustrated, Chavez and his allies blasted the United States. “The Honduran army wouldn’t have gone forward without the approval of the State Department. I don’t think they told Obama, but there’s an empire behind Obama,” Chavez thundered on Thursday at a summit in Bolivia where he, Bolivian President Evo Morales and other leftist leaders met with Zelaya’s foreign minister to show support.

Morales blamed Washington for the coup, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro published a column on Thursday saying: “The idea that the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Hugo Llorens, did not know about the coup is absolutely false.” “Honduras is very important to Chavez,” said Daniel Hellinger of Webster University in Missouri. “If Zelaya is kept out, then he does get to blame Washington. If Zelaya returns, I suppose that it is a win for Chavez, but the US will also claim that it has acted in support of democracy,” H
ellinger said.

Kuwait Times