VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez told the United States yesterday to "get its hands off Venezuela" as he accused Washington of backing a wave of opposition protests seeking a recall vote against him.
Mr Chavez, who sent troops on to the streets to control a week of protests in which at least eight people were killed, appealed to the international community to condemn what he said was the second US attempt in two years to topple him.
"In the name of the truth, I have to ask the Washington government to get its hands off Venezuela," the left-wing leader told foreign ambassadors whom he summoned to the presidential palace.
"Mr Bush's government is financing this mad opposition. I have quite a lot of evidence," Mr Chavez said, without giving details. He repeated charges that Washington had backed an April 2002 coup that briefly ousted him.
The US government has persistently denied repeated accusations by the outspoken Venezuelan President that it is trying to overthrow him. It says Mr Chavez's anti-US rhetoric is an attempt to distract attention from his domestic problems.
Venezuela, the world's No 5 oil-exporter, is one of the biggest four suppliers of petroleum to the United States. The state oil firm PDVSA says its operations and shipments have not been affected by the anti-government protests.
Opposition demonstrators, who accuse Mr Chavez of manipulating electoral officials to block a petition for a referendum, took to the streets of Caracas and other cities in the last week to set up burning barricades and battle with troops.
Opponents say Mr Chavez, a former paratrooper elected in 1998, is ruling like a dictator. But the Populist leader still enjoys support among Venezuela's poor.
The disturbances have subsided in recent days, although several hundred anti-Chavez demonstrators marched in Caracas yesterday to protest about opposition supporters who were killed.
Emergency services officials put the casualty toll so far from the clashes at eight shot dead and 182 injured. But opposition leaders and local media say the figure is higher.
