US criticism is aggression against Venezuela: vice president

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the critical remarks made by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director represented "another aggression" launched by the United States against the South American country.

Earlier, CIA director John Negroponte told the US Senate that Chavez "is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in an extravagant foreign policy" instead of fighting poverty. He also said that were Chavez reelected this year, he would stifle Venezuelan democracy.

Rangel denied the claims, saying Venezuela is spending petrol company profits to lift the country out of poverty and is having "unquestionable success that is noted all over the world."

Negroponte is "a shady character," said Rangel, adding that the US official has been involved in human rights violations and drug trafficking in Honduras.

US-Venezuelan relations hit a new low earlier this month after the Venezuelan authorities accused a US naval attache at the embassy in Caracas of spying and expelled him from the country.

Washington responded by expelling a Venezuelan diplomat.