Venezuela, Mexico recall envoys
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-15 10:41

Venezuela and Mexico recalled their ambassadors on Monday after left-wing President Hugo Chavez and his counterpart Vicente Fox sparred in an escalating dispute over a U.S. regional free trade proposal.

The diplomatic spat underscored sharp divisions among Latin American leaders over Washington's economic policies and an increasingly aggressive campaign by Chavez to counter U.S. influence in the region.

Venezuela announced the recall of its ambassador after Mexico threatened to withdraw its own envoy if Caracas did not apologize by midnight for remarks by Chavez, who criticized Fox and branded him a "lap dog" of U.S. imperialism.

"We have ordered the immediate return of our ambassador Vladimir Villegas, leaving our affairs... in the hands of a commercial attache," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez told reporters.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks during his weekly television program in Caracas, November 13, 2005. [Reuters]

"There is no break in relations... we hope to find a solution to this," Rodriguez said, making it clear Venezuela rejected the Mexican government's ultimatum for an apology.

Speaking in a live interview with the CNN en Espanol channel shortly afterward, Fox said Mexico would also withdraw its ambassador. Chavez had taken a policy disagreement personally, Fox said, and insulted the Mexican people.

"We have dignity in Mexico and we have to put a stop to anybody who offends the dignity of Mexico or its institutions," he said. "That defense will go as far as needed. Like we're doing right now, which is withdrawing our ambassador."

Fox said Mexico's ambassador would leave Caracas within 24 hours.

Withdrawing ambassadors is one step countries can take in a bilateral dispute. Venezuela and Mexico will maintain commercial ties and diplomatic contacts although their political relations will be downgraded.

In this photo provided by Miraflores Prensa, Mexican President Vicente Fox, left, shakes hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004, at the 19-nation Group of Rio summit. [AP/file]

The dispute, the worst in recent years between the two nations, erupted after the regional Summit of the Americas in Argentina, where leaders earlier this month failed to resolve differences over how to create a hemisphere-wide free trade zone.

Fox, a conservative closely allied to Washington on trade issues, had accused Argentina's left-leaning President Nestor Kirchner of pandering to opinion polls instead of pushing a free trade accord backed by Washington at the summit.

The Mexican leader also dismissed Chavez's leftist ideology as being divorced from reality.

A harsh critic of U.S. influence, Chavez often clashes with Washington over its free trade proposals. The former soldier presents his socialist revolution as an alternative for a region where many are disillusioned with U.S. policies.

Chavez on Sunday warned Fox: "Don't mess with me, mister, because you'll get pricked." Days earlier he called Fox a "lap dog of the empire" for backing U.S. trade policies at the Americas summit.

Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, is a key supplier of crude to the U.S. market. But relations between Caracas and Washington have frayed since Chavez came to office and strengthened ties with anti-U.S. states such as Cuba.

U.S. officials portray Chavez as a regional menace who has used his country's oil wealth to undermine democracy. He counters that Washington has backed attempts to topple his government to access his country's oil.