Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized a trade deal that eliminates barriers between the United States and Central American countries, calling it a misguided deal that will harm the region's small economies. Chavez, a frequent critic of the U.S. government, also said he had read reports of President Bush "putting money in circulation to buy votes and to blackmail, through the so-called (U.S.) intelligence agencies, to approve an initiative which is perverse."Chavez did not give other details of his source or the claims, which have been made by some opponents of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The House of Representatives narrowly approved the agreement Thursday in a 217-215 vote, four weeks after the Senate backed the measure. The trade deal eliminates barriers between the United States and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Chavez says that is the wrong strategy for small countries with a history of domination by the United States. "It would harm the economies and societies much more in our sister Central America," Chavez said during his weekly television and radio show.