Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has said he would stop oil exports to the United States if the US government tries to assassinate him.
"If anything happens to me, forget about Venezuelan oil Mr. (George W.) Bush," said Mr Chavez during his weekly radio and television show.
Mr Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro accused the United States last week of planning to assassinate the Venezuelan leader.
"If I am assassinated, there is only one person responsible: the president of the United States. You must take action if this happens," Chavez said to listeners of his show.
Relations with the United States, Venezuela's main oil buyer, have deteriorated in the past months due to Washington's criticism of weapons purchases by Venezuela.
Mr Chavez is a strong critic of US involvement in Iraq and free market deals backed by Washington. Mr Chavez has also accused the US government of being behind a 2002 coup attempt that it was slow to condemn.
Venezuela is the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter and is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States, shipping nearly 1.2 million barrels of crude to US ports daily.
AP