Bush “to oust Chávez before he quits White House”

Samuel Moncada, the Venezuelan ambassador to Britain, told a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference this week of his fears that George W Bush plans to move against his country before he leaves the White House in November. Mr Moncada, speaking at a meeting to mark Ten Years of Democratic Participation and Social Progress in Venezuela, said: “We don’t infringe people’s human rights. We don’t invade other countries. We don’t hold people in Guantánamo. But still the US points the finger at us. We do not believe that Mr Bush will leave the White House in November without doing something about Venezuela. We fear that the next few weeks will be very dangerous for us.” Earlier this month the US ambassador to Venezuela was asked to leave the country after the discovery of a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chávez and organise a coup d’etat.