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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| U.S. Says Venezuela Complicit in Attack | |
| 2006-04-08 | |
| WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department accused Caracas city officials of complicity Friday in an attack on the car of U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield in the Venezuelan capital. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns summoned Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez to the State Department and told him that Venezuela was in violation of an international treaty that requires the host countries to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats, department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The incident ``clearly was condoned by the local government,'' McCormack said. Pro-government activists bombarded Brownfield's car with fruit and vegetables and a group of motorcyclists chased the convoy, at times pummeling the vehicles with their fists. McCormack said local government officials were handing out snacks to the perpetrators as Brownfield was participating in a ceremony at a Caracas stadium. The event included a gift of baseball equipment to children. McCormack said it was the fourth government-sponsored attempt to intimidate U.S. diplomats in Venezuela, three having occurred in the past three weeks. ``We will not be intimidated,'' McCormack said. According to McCormack, Burns warned Alvarez that there will be ``severe diplomatic consequences between our countries'' if there is another incident.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Isn't this an act of war? It seems to me this is how the Iranians began their undeclared war against us. |
| Posted by: badanov 2006-04-08 05:47 |