Venezuela's Chavez says assassination attempt against him foiled
CARACAS, Venezuela
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that an attempt was made to assassinate him recently and that those responsible fled to Colombia.
Chavez appeared to link the plot to his main rival in upcoming presidential elections, Gov. Manuel Rosales of Zulia state, claiming that he is in constant danger from opponents seeking to get rid of him.
"No more than a few months ago over in Zulia ... they didn't shoot me by a hair's breadth," Chavez said in a televised speech.
Chavez said a sniper had waited with a long-range gun and a motorcycle to escape on, and planned to shoot him as he exited from a helicopter and walked across a 200-meter (650-foot) open stretch.
"The plan didn't work out for them — God is always present over there. But those responsible left for Colombia, and by the way, they were from the Zulia police."
He did not elaborate further on the alleged plot.
Chavez visited the western oil-producing region of Zulia, where Rosales enjoys strong support, in June to inaugurate a refurbished fertilizer plant.
Chavez, a former army paratrooper, has made other claims of assassination plots in the past, including a case involving 27 Colombians and three former Venezuelan military officers who were convicted last October by a military court for allegedly plotting to kill him.
His government also demanded that Bogota investigate allegations that surfaced in an influential Colombian magazine in April saying the country's secret police plotted to assassinate Chavez and other top Venezuelan officials. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has denied the allegations.
Chavez has also accused the U.S. government of secretly backing his opponents in the Dec. 3 elections and recently claimed that George W. Bush may be seeking to kill him after he called the U.S. president "the devil" at the U.N. General Assembly.
"For sure, one walks around risking one's life ... We're being threatened with death by the (U.S.) empire," he said, likening his trip to New York earlier this month to "walking into Lucifer's own cave."
U.S.-Venezuela ties sharply deteriorated after the Bush administration swiftly recognized leaders who ousted Chavez in a 2002 coup before the Venezuelan returned to power amid a popular uprising.
Chavez has claimed before that the U.S. government is out to kill him and invade his country. U.S. officials deny that but criticize Chavez as a destabilizing force in Latin America.
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Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that an attempt was made to assassinate him recently and that those responsible fled to Colombia.
Chavez appeared to link the plot to his main rival in upcoming presidential elections, Gov. Manuel Rosales of Zulia state, claiming that he is in constant danger from opponents seeking to get rid of him.
"No more than a few months ago over in Zulia ... they didn't shoot me by a hair's breadth," Chavez said in a televised speech.
Chavez said a sniper had waited with a long-range gun and a motorcycle to escape on, and planned to shoot him as he exited from a helicopter and walked across a 200-meter (650-foot) open stretch.
"The plan didn't work out for them — God is always present over there. But those responsible left for Colombia, and by the way, they were from the Zulia police."
He did not elaborate further on the alleged plot.
Chavez visited the western oil-producing region of Zulia, where Rosales enjoys strong support, in June to inaugurate a refurbished fertilizer plant.
Chavez, a former army paratrooper, has made other claims of assassination plots in the past, including a case involving 27 Colombians and three former Venezuelan military officers who were convicted last October by a military court for allegedly plotting to kill him.
His government also demanded that Bogota investigate allegations that surfaced in an influential Colombian magazine in April saying the country's secret police plotted to assassinate Chavez and other top Venezuelan officials. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has denied the allegations.
Chavez has also accused the U.S. government of secretly backing his opponents in the Dec. 3 elections and recently claimed that George W. Bush may be seeking to kill him after he called the U.S. president "the devil" at the U.N. General Assembly.
"For sure, one walks around risking one's life ... We're being threatened with death by the (U.S.) empire," he said, likening his trip to New York earlier this month to "walking into Lucifer's own cave."
U.S.-Venezuela ties sharply deteriorated after the Bush administration swiftly recognized leaders who ousted Chavez in a 2002 coup before the Venezuelan returned to power amid a popular uprising.
Chavez has claimed before that the U.S. government is out to kill him and invade his country. U.S. officials deny that but criticize Chavez as a destabilizing force in Latin America.
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Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks to delegates of the 141st Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, in this file photo from June 1, 2006. Venezuela said Friday, Sept. 29, 2006, it will cut oil production by 50,000 barrels a day to try and stem the recent fall in crude prices and President Hugo Chavez said an "appropriate" price for oil was $50 to $60 a barrel. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch-File) (Leslie Mazoch - AP)
posted by Alice at
Sunday, October 01, 2006
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