Caracas: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday his government will close its consulate in Miami after the US government expelled a diplomat. Chavez said his government has decided the consulate will shut its doors in what he called an "administrative closing" in response to the consul's expulsion by the US State Department.
Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela's consul general in Miami, was ordered out of the US last weekend followed allegations that she discussed possible cyber-attacks on the US while she was stationed at the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico.
The action came after an FBI investigation into allegations detailed in a documentary aired by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision last month.
According to the documentary, Acosta discussed a possible cyber-attack against the US government while assigned as a diplomat in the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico. The documentary was based on recordings of conversations with her and other officials, and alleged that Cuban and Iranian diplomatic missions were involved.
Citing audio and video obtained by the students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Univision said Acosta was seeking information about the servers of nuclear power plants in the US. Chavez has defended the diplomat.
He announced the decision to close the Miami consulate during his annual speech to the National Assembly.
The leftist president repeated his criticisms of the United States, calling its government "a threat for the world."
During the speech, Chavez also said he expects a "year of tests" as he runs for re-election, and he pledged to hand over the presidency if he loses.
Chavez has been in office for 13 years and is seeking another six-year term in the October vote. Chavez told opposition lawmakers that if he loses, he "would be the first in recognizing it."
Recent polls show that Chavez's popularity has been above 50 percent. Opponents criticize Chavez's handling of problems such as rampant violent crime and 27.6 percent inflation. The country's opposition coalition said in a statement that Chavez has been "neglecting people's problems due to being busy trying to remain in power."
Chavez defended government policies including his recent decision to withdraw billions of dollars in its gold reserves from US and European banks and bring it back to the Central Bank in Caracas. Holding up a bar of gold, he criticized prior governments, saying: "They had taken our gold away."
Comments
0 comment