Venezuela condemns "imperial" U.S. visa reprisal

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By Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS | Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:07pm EST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela condemned on Thursday the United States' revocation of its ambassador's visa as an "imperial" move by President Barack Obama's government, saying the measure should be immediately overturned.

In the latest flare-up between the ideological foes, Washington withdrew the visa of ambassador Bernardo Alvarez on Wednesday in retaliation for the rejection by socialist President Hugo Chavez of Obama's nominated U.S. envoy to Caracas.

Diplomat Larry Palmer had criticized Venezuela's government.

"This is a new aggression by the State Department," Roy Daza, a prominent ruling party member who heads parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Reuters. "The only possible solution is for the United States to rectify its position."

The tit-for-tat appeared to bury any lingering prospects of rapprochement between the Obama administration and Chavez, who has inherited Fidel Castro's mantle as Latin America's leading critic of the United States.

Despite the diplomatic spat, few expect either Venezuela or the United States to risk jeopardizing trade ties -- principally oil -- crucial to both nation's economies.

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