President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday dared the US government to expel his ambassador from Washington in response to Venezuela's rejection of the White House's choice for ambassador in Caracas. Chavez reiterated that he will not allow the US diplomat Larry Palmer to be ambassador, and said if the government is going to expel our ambassador there, let them do it He added: if they're going to cut diplomatic relations, let them do itThe US State Department has said it stands behind its nomination of Palmer, who is awaiting Senate confirmation. Palmer angered Chavez by suggesting during the confirmation process that morale is low in Venezuela's military and that he is concerned Colombian rebels are finding refuge in Venezuela.State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said last week that Venezuela's decision not to accept Palmer after initially giving its approval will have consequences on relations with Venezuela, and that the US government would evaluate what to do. The State Department has also been strongly critical of decree powers granted to Chavez by his congressional allies this month, a maneuver Crowley described as one more way for the leftist president to justify autocratic powers. Now the US government is threatening us that they're going to take reprisals. Well, let them do whatever they want, but that man will not come, Chavez said in a televised speech. There was no immediate reaction from the US Embassy in Caracas, which has been without an ambassador since Patrick Duddy finished his assignment and left in July. Chavez, whose economy relies heavily on oil sales to the United States, has accused Palmer of dishonoring the Venezuelan government by expressing concerns on several sensitive subjects including 2008 accusations by the US Treasury Department that three members of Chavez's inner circle helped Colombian rebels by supplying arms and aiding drug-trafficking operations.For an ambassador to come, he has to respect this homeland, Chavez said. Chavez's latest actions in pushing through controversial laws are contributing to the diplomatic tensions.The National Assembly on Dec. 17 granted Chavez broad powers to enact laws by decree for a year and a half. Opponents have condemned that and a package of other laws approved by Chavez's congressional allies, saying the legislative offensive amounts to an authoritarian power grab and will give Chavez new abilities to crack down on dissent.The measures have been hurriedly passed before a new legislature takes office Jan. 5 with enough opposition lawmakers to prevent passage of some types of major laws.Chavez said Tuesday that he used his decree powers to establish 10 military districts many of them in three western states bordering Colombia, two of which are led by opposition governors. Chavez did not elaborate on how the districts will be administered, but they could be under the equivalent of martial law.
