US retaliates in diplomatic row with Chavez

The United States has withdrawn the visa of Venezuela’s ambassador to Washington, in retaliation for the rejection by Caracas of President Obama’s choice of US ambassador.

The State Department said Venezuela had brought the measure upon itself.

The move by Washington effectively expels Bernardo Alvarez Herrera. He is thought to be still in the US but the move means he can’t return there.

Earlier this week Larry Palmer was blocked from becoming US ambassador to Caracas.

Comments he made earlier this year angered President Hugo Chavez. The American diplomat accused the Venezuelan government of close ties to Colombian rebels and suggested that morale was low in Venezuela’s armed forces.

The spat follows long-simmering tensions between Caracas and Washington but is thought unlikely to affect trade.

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