Venezuela rejects new US ambassador

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he will not accept Larry Palmer as the US government’s new ambassador to the Latin American country.

Chavez explained that Palmer had previously accused Caracas of harboring Colombian guerillas.

He criticized President Barack Obama for labeling Venezuela as a failure in Washington’s counter-drug efforts, which Chavez called a “new attack by the Yankee Empire,” the Canadian Press reported.

The Obama administration on Thursday named Venezuela, Bolivia and Myanmar, as “countries that have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements.”

Chavez responded by calling the Obama administration an “irresponsible government, a murderous government, a coup-mongering government.”

The Venezuelan leader has long accused the US of using the issue of illicit drugs against him for political reasons.

In a televised speech, Chavez said Venezuela is expending significant efforts to stem the flow of Colombian cocaine. He pointed to the arrest of the alleged boss of the Colombian Norte de Valle cartel this week and said the suspect was one of the 16 people detained on drug charges by Venezuelan authorities this year.

Colombian Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera Salazar praised the Thursday arrest of Jaime Alberto Marin as an example of effective police work by Bogota and Caracas.