Hugo Chavez says US wants him dead.

[BrotherHector]

CARACAS (IPS/GIN) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. government has plans to assassinate him and, thus, trigger chaos that would allow it to intervene militarily and take control of the South American country’s huge oil reserves.

Now, recent statements by the top U.S. official in Venezuela appear to back up his fears.

In a recent interview with the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel reported that former U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro had warned him of the possibility of an attempt on Pres. Chávez’s life.

Mr. Shapiro, who served as ambassador to Venezuela from 2001 to 2004, “did not go into details, but felt he was obliged to share this information with us, for legal reasons,� Mr. Rangel added.

In the mid-1970s, Washington officially prohibited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from planning or participating in assassination attempts against foreign leaders, a prohibition widely disregarded.

The current U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, admitted that “Vice President Rangel is telling the truth. On two occasions, Ambassador Shapiro informed the Venezuelan authorities of actions against the current administration.� Mr. Brownfield did not clarify the origin of these actions.

“The first time was in April 2002, when he spoke to the (Venezuelan) president about the possibilities of a coup,� he said.

On April 11, 2002, Pres. Chávez was ousted in a short-lived coup, and business leader Pedro Carmona was named de facto president with quiet U.S. backing. But just two days later, Pres. Chávez was restored to power by loyal factions of the military, backed by massive popular demonstrations.

“The other time was in September or October, when (Shapiro) spoke with Vice President Rangel about a possible assassination attempt,� said Mr. Brownsfield, who added that, in both cases, the former ambassador was acting as required by U.S. law.

Over the past few weeks, both at home in Caracas and during visits to Uruguay and India, Pres. Chávez has repeatedly referred to plans to put an end to his life, while Venezuelan Foreign Minister AlÃ* RodrÃ*guez brought an official complaint before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington.

“We want to alert the international community to the fact that an event of this nature would not only threaten the peace in Venezuela, but in the rest of Latin America and beyond,â€� said Mr. RodrÃ*guez. If the president were, in fact, assassinated, he said, “who could control the reaction of the Venezuelan people, of the oil industry workers, for example?â€�

The longstanding friction between the administrations of Hugo Chávez and George Bush over issues like democracy, human rights, sovereignty and terrorism has done nothing to hinder the flow of Venezuelan oil to the United States, at the rate of a million-and-a-half barrels a day, representing roughly 13 percent of total U.S. oil imports.

Pres. Chávez has stated numerous times that “we have evidence: if something happens to me, the person responsible will be the president of the United States, George W. Bush.�

When asked to provide proof for the Venezuelan government’s charges, Mr. Rangel responded, “This is rhetorical. The proof will be Chávez’s corpse. Why not ask for proof from Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala or the Dominican Republic?� a reference to countries that have been subjected to bloody U.S. military intervention.

Venezuelan state television has repeatedly aired an excerpt from an interview, originally broadcast by a Miami, Fla. television station, with Venezuelan TV actor and host Orlando Urdaneta, an outspoken Chávez opponent who now lives in the United States.

In the interview, filmed last year, Mr. Urdaneta says that “Venezuela’s biggest problem can be solved with a rifle with a telescopic sight,� obviously alluding to Pres. Chávez. When asked by the interviewer, “Who would give the order?�—he replies, “The order has already been given.�

According to Pres. Chávez, those plotting against his life in the United States intend for his death “to spark an upheaval that would pave the way for a military intervention, which would allow them to seize control of the Venezuelan people’s oil.�

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher has labeled the Venezuelan leader’s allegations as “ridiculous and untrue.�