A top US official said today Venezuela should cooperate more in the fight against terrorism.
Mr Cofer Black, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the US Department of State, claimed the country was dragging its feet on everything from swapping information on suspects to bringing them to trial.
Venezuela's left-wing president Hugo Chavez, who flaunts his friendship with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his opposition to the US-sponsored free trade area of the Americas, has long been an irritant for Washington.
Mr Black claimed Venezuela could do "significantly more" to combat terrorism. "The issue is how hard can you work with the least amount of sleep," he said. "The Venezuelans can do more than they are doing now."
Earlier this year, the US accused Mr Chavez of teaming up with Mr Castro to overthrow governments in Latin America, a charge denied by the populist Venezuelan leader.
The Venezuelan president in turn accused the United States of laying the groundwork for a coup to overthrow him.
Venezuelan officials have also denied charges made by Colombian authorities that Venezuela was too soft on Colombian armed groups operating along the border, and US officials have said they were "monitoring" thesituation.
Mr Black was briefing journalists on next week's fourth session of the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism, a regional effort to improve security coordination among the 34 members of the Organization of American States, a hemispheric body.