WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday distanced itself from a call by prominent religious broadcaster Pat Robertson for Washington to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The conservative televangelistâs comments outraged Venezuelan authorities, who expressed concern about Chavezâs safety when he travels to the UN General Assembly in New York next month.
Speaking from Cuba, Chavez downplayed the remarks, saying he had more important things to deal with. âI donât know who this person is, and I donât know him. In my view, it is neither here nor there,â he said. âWe take care of ourselves when we have to. I am here to talk about life, there are more important things,â said the normally effusive Chavez.
âI would say that Pat Robertson is a private citizen and that his views do not represent the policy of the United States,â State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, describing the TV preacherâs comments as âinappropriate.â
âAs we have said before, any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan government are completely baseless and without fact,â McCormack added.
| "But we wouldn't mind watching the little bastard squirm," he muttered under his breath. |
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied that the Pentagon has considered assassinating the leftist president. âOur department doesnât do that type of thing,â Rumsfeld said.
| "We have more ... direct ... ways," he added. |
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez called Robertsonâs comments a âpublic crimeâ that should be investigated by US authorities. âPat Robertsonâs statement must be condemned in the strongest term by the Bush administration and we are concerned about the safety of our president,â Venezuelaâs ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, said in a news conference.
âIt is essential that the US government guarantees his safety when he visits this country in the future, including his scheduled visit to the United Nations in New York,â Alvarez Herrera said.
| We do that as a matter of course. But perhaps we could induce some of the visiting party to defect. That's always fun. |
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