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01/26/2006:

"US diplomat: Chávez is meddling in other countries' affairs"

US ambassador to Peru James Curtis Struble Wednesday said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "is meddling a lot in other countries' affairs."

"He should let presidents take care of their countries, and the best thing for the region is Chávez taking care of managing his country," Curtis said when asked about recent diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Peru.

Tensions emerged following Chávez' public expression of support for Peruvian nationalist presidential candidate Ollanta Humala and criticisms against Peruvian conservative presidential hopeful Lourdes Flores.

Curtis added that Chávez "feels resentment against all the countries that want to make their own decisions regarding their future, particularly political choices," Efe reported.

"While South America has an interest in improving its ties, most leaders have chosen an integration different from Chávez' proposal," he asserted.

"Venezuela is a concern for the United States because it is a member of the community of the Americas, where all have signed the Democratic Charter, except for Cuba."

"We want to strengthen democracies, rather than witness the return of authoritarianism to this continent."

Meanwhile, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo stated: "Verbal conflicts with Chávez are over."
eluniversal.com