Venezuela slams US

Discord over envoy deepens:

VENEZUELA: Venezuela slammed US plans to appoint an ambassador rejected by Caracas, saying Saturday that Washington's statements on the matter were consistent with its policy of aggression against the South American country.

The latest dispute came a day after Venezuelan lawmakers voted to let President Hugo Chavez bypass Parliament and rule by decree for 18 months. That move was denounced by opposition rivals and the US State Department as autocratic. The row over newly nominated US envoy Larry Palmer has simmered since August, when Chavez said he would not be allowed to take up his post because the diplomat had criticized the Chavez's Government.

Last week, a senior US State Department official, Arturo Valenzuela, said Palmer's confirmation by the US Senate was expected in the coming days, according to media reports.

"The Venezuelan Government rejects the most recent statements ... noting that they ratify the historic line of interventionism and aggression against the Venezuelan people, their institutions and democracy," it said in a statement.

"On repeated occasions we have made it known to the US Government that, because of the gravity of Palmer's actions, it is impossible for us to accept him," it said.

The United States' insistence on naming the ambassador amounted to "a new provocation and demonstration of the hypocrisy of the elite that governs that country," it added.

Palmer triggered outrage in the Chavez administration when he told a US senator that morale was low in the Venezuelan military and that there were clear ties between members of the country's Government and FARC rebels in neighbouring Colombia.

Reuters