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US sanctions stoke Venezuela row Expulsions stoke US-Venezuela row
(about 2 hours later)
The US Treasury has frozen the assets of two senior Venezuelan officials it accuses of aiding Colombian rebels, in an escalating diplomatic row. A series of tit-for-tat expulsions has left the US without ambassadors in three Latin American countries.
The US said Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios and Henry de Jesus Rangel Silva were "materially assisting the [Farc rebels'] narcotics trafficking". Bolivia and Venezuela have expelled their US envoys, accusing Washington of trying to oust Bolivia's government.
The move came as the US revealed plans to throw out Venezuela's envoy, after Caracas expelled the US ambassador. Washington has responded by throwing out envoys from Bolivia and Venezuela and freezing the assets of three aides to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The US and Bolivia have also engaged in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions. Meanwhile, Honduras has refused the credentials of a new US ambassador, postponing his appointment.
Relations between Washington and Caracas are not thought to have been helped by this week's arrival in Venezuela of two Russian bomber planes taking part in a military exercise. US officials said the actions of Venezuela and Bolivia showed their leaders' "weakness and desperation".
'Abetted and funded' The BBC's Emilio San Pedro said relations between the US and Latin American opponents such as Mr Chavez had seemed to be on a holding pattern.
The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on a third ex-official, former Venezuelan justice minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin. Analysts say the trio are members of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's inner circle. But the situation has changed in a matter of days, he says.
All three had "armed, abetted and funded the Farc, even as it terrorized and kidnapped innocents," according to a statement from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. This week's arrival in Venezuela of two Russian bomber planes taking part in a military exercise is not thought to have helped the situation.
And with more joint military exercises in the pipeline, our correspondent says it could take a while before tensions subside.
Bolivia accusations
Freezing the assets of the three Venezuelan officials, the US Treasury accused them of "materially assisting the narcotics trafficking" of rebels in Colombia.
All three had "armed, abetted and funded the Farc, even as it terrorised and kidnapped innocents", according to a statement from the US Treasury referring to the left-wing rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
Analysts say the trio - Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, Henry de Jesus Rangel Silva and Ramon Rodriguez Chacin - are members of Mr Chavez's inner circle.
Evo Morales accused the US envoy of meddling in Bolivia's internal affairsEvo Morales accused the US envoy of meddling in Bolivia's internal affairs
Mr Carvajal Barrios is a Venezuelan military intelligence director who has protected Farc drug shipments from seizure, according to the Treasury. Mr Carvajal Barrios is a military intelligence director who has protected Farc drug shipments from seizure, claimed the US statement.
Mr Rangel Silva is another intelligence chief who had pushed for greater co-operation between Venezuela and the Farc, the US Treasury alleged.Mr Rangel Silva is another intelligence chief who had pushed for greater co-operation between Venezuela and the Farc, the US Treasury alleged.
And Mr Rodriguez Chacin is Caracas' "main weapons contact for the Farc," the statement charged. And Mr Rodriguez Chacin, who until Monday was Venezuela's justice minister, is Caracas' main "weapons contact" for the Farc, the statement charged.
The latest row began when Bolivia threw out the US ambassador in La Paz, Philip Goldberg, accusing him of meddling in the country's internal affairs. The flurry of diplomatic expulsions began on Thursday, when Bolivia threw out the American ambassador to La Paz, Philip Goldberg.
President Evo Morales said the American envoy had been openly siding with an increasingly violent opposition movement in the east of the country. President Evo Morales said the US envoy had been siding with a violent opposition movement in the east of Bolivia, where groups are demanding greater autonomy and a bigger share of gas export revenues.
'Go to hell''Go to hell'
US officials said the allegations were baseless, but nonetheless expelled the Bolivian ambassador to Washington in retaliation.US officials said the allegations were baseless, but nonetheless expelled the Bolivian ambassador to Washington in retaliation.
This prompted the Venezuelan leader, a Bolivian ally, to step in to the fray. This prompted the Venezuelan leader to step in to the fray alongside his Bolivian ally.
On Thursday, President Hugo Chavez gave US ambassador Patrick Duddy 72 hours to leave Caracas, telling him: "Go to hell 100 times." President Chavez gave US ambassador Patrick Duddy 72 hours to leave Caracas, telling him: "Go to hell 100 times."
US state department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Friday: "This reflects the weakness and desperation of these leaders." On Friday Washington responded by giving the Venezuelan ambassador his marching orders.
BBC South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says the spat between oil-exporting Venezuela and the US is in neither side's interest. Now Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Rosales has refused to accept the credentials of new US ambassador.
The US is a leading trade partner and a major aid donor to Latin America, so few in the region will be happy relations have plummeted to this new low, says our correspondent. BBC South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says a growing number of left-wing Latin American governments have backed Mr Chavez's anti-US rhetoric.
The region has also benefited from the Venezuelan leader's generosity with oil.
But the US is a leading trade partner and a major aid donor to Latin America, so few in the region will be happy relations have plummeted to this new low, according to our correspondent.
He says this diplomatic row is serious but will probably soon blow over, while Bolivia's problems are only likely to get worse.