Venezuelan president says Bush should 'ask for God's pardon' on Iraq

Published: 2004-05-19

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNS) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said U.S. President George W. Bush should kneel and "ask for God's pardon from the Vatican, from the Sistine Chapel, on world television," for U.S. soldiers' recently exposed abuses against Iraqi prisoners. Bush is scheduled to visit Pope John Paul II at the Vatican June 4. Chavez made his remarks May 14 to foreign journalists. He also has accused the Bush administration of meddling in Venezuela and supporting government enemies. Chavez repeatedly has criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq as an "imperialist aggression" and expressed support for the insurgents battling coalition troops. Earlier, he also criticized the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, which he compared to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington. Venezuela, like Iraq, is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Since becoming president in 1999, Chavez has worked for closer relations with Arab nations, including Iraq, which he visited in August 2001.

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