The US government must respect Venezuela's sovereignty and stop meddling if it wants to improve ties with its fourth-largest oil supplier, Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said today.
Mr Rodriguez was responding to comments by US Secretary of State-designate Ms Condoleezza Rice who criticized President Hugo Chavez at her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday for what she called his autocratic measures at home and his negative influence in the region.
The exchange is the latest between the Bush administration and Mr Chavez, a left-wing former army officer and fierce critic of the United States whose close ties to Cuban leader Fidel Castro have irritated Washington.
"We can not tolerate that they try to put on pressure and try to provoke problems within the country," Mr Rodriguez told reporters. "The North American people can be sure Venezuela wants better relations ... but for this to happen there must be respect for our sovereignty."
The minister's response was more low-key than previous broadsides between Caracas and Washington before Mr Chavez won an August referendum. Since then, the two countries have appeared to try to set aside antagonistic rhetoric and have pledged to work to improve relations.
Mr Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, often accuses the United States of financing opponents seeking to overthrow him and says his "Bolivarian" revolution provides a regional alternative to US market-orientated policies.
In a typical fiery speech today, the president did not directly respond to Ms Rice's comments but once again charged that Washington had conceived and backed a short-lived 2002 coup that briefly toppled him. "In Washington, they export everything, including coups," he said. The United States has denied this.
Opponents say Mr Chavez's social reforms to fight poverty are a smokescreen hiding an increasingly undemocratic regime. Conflict over his rule, including the brief coup and an oil strike, battered the world's fifth largest petroleum exporter for three years.
Three US senators visiting Caracas last week urged Washington to build on its energy ties with Venezuela and seek better cooperation with Mr Chavez to fight terrorism and drug-trafficking.