Venezuela threatens to boot U.S. diplomat

Venezuela’s government threatened to boot a U.S. “top embassy official” less than a week after the South American country expelled Israeli diplomats.

President Hugo Chavez accused the official in question of allying with the opposition during a visit to Puerto Rico and plotting against the Venezuelan government. “If I can confirm this, I’ll throw them out of the country,” threatened Chavez who had previously expelled U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy.

Chavez also added in his remarks that Puerto Rico “needs to be liberated” from U.S. rule. (Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. commonwealth).

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman told the AP that Charge d'Affaires John Caulfield did visit Puerto Rico recently yet did so in order to attend a wedding.

Meanwhile, expelled Ambassador Shlomo Cohen defended the actions of his native Israel:

"We are harboring the hope that this will be resolved quickly and relations will improve," Cohen told The Associated Press before boarding a flight (on Friday) to Frankfurt, Germany...

Chavez called Cohen's expulsion a "gesture of dignity" in response to Israeli air and ground strikes on Gaza, which have killed at least 777 Palestinians since Dec. 27 — many of them civilians…

Cohen defended the Israel offensive, saying there was "no alternative."

Image- AP (“In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez gestures during a rally in Caracas, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg