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Venezuela urges US ambassador to share plans amid diplo-row
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 04 12 06Venezuela's Ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, Tuesday urged the US Ambassador in Caracas, William Brownfield, to coordinate his activities with the Hugo Chavez government if he wants to avoid the kind of assault with which he was hit last week.
Alvarez suggested that Brownfield purposely provoked the incident, in which his car was hit with tomatoes and eggs, alleging that either the ambassador is "lazy," lacks common sense or he would plan his outings with the help of the Venezuelan government if he wants to ensure his safety.
"The basis for protection is common sense and cooperation, collaboration; help me to help you," the Venezuelan envoy told a group of journalists, denying that the Venezuelan government was involved in any way with four incidents in which Brownfield has been involved.
The spokeswoman for the US embassy in Caracas, Salome Hernandez, has said that the embassy does coordinate the ambassador's travel plans with local authorities.
On Monday, the United States accused the Venezuelan government of involvement in the attack on the US ambassador in Caracas and threatened serious reprisals if the incident is repeated.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Venezuelan ambassador's ability to move around the United States would be "severely restricted" if there was another assault on US envoy Brownfield. McCormack called the latest incident "a thuggish attempt to intimidate our ambassador."
And on Sunday, the fiery Chavez blamed Brownfield for the protests, saying he triggered them with provocative trips around Venezuela accompanied by a large security detail.
Chavez also used his weekly Sunday broadcast to launch another harsh diatribe at US President George W. Bush, accusing him of being a drunk, a coward and a genocidal maniac.
AFP 04 11 2006 1829 GMTCopyright © 1994-2006 Agence France-Presse. All Rights Reserved.
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