Rice accuses Chavez of "destroying" Venezuela

Feb 7, 2007, 22:23 GMT

Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of ruining his country's democratic insitutions and economy.

Rice's comments came one week after Venezuela's parliament, wholly controlled by Chavez's party and his supporters, gave him the authority to rule by decree for 18 months.

'There's an assault on democracy in Venezuela, and I believe that there are significant human rights issues in Venezuela,' Rice said at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Relations between the two countries have grown increasingly sour in recent years. Chavez alleges Washington meddles in his country, while Washington believes he is marginalizing democracy. Rice's comments were some of the most pointed yet.

'I do believe that the president of Venezuela is really, really destroying his own country economically, politically,' Rice said.

Chavez has announced plans to nationalize Venezuela's telecommunications and energy industries as part of his socialist agenda.

Chavez, who has forged strong ties with US foes like Iran and North Korea, says the United States has imperialist ambitions and raised his heated rhetoric to a new level when he called US President George W Bush the 'devil' during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Rice said Chavez's comments harmed Venezuela, which at the time was lobbying for a seat on the UN Security Council. Guatemala won the spot after several rounds of voting.

'He probably did himself no good with his speech at the United Nations General Assembly,' Rice said. Chavez 'made it not very hard, actually, to argue that Venezuela had no place on the Security Council. And as you notice, they're not there.'