Posted on 11/28/2005 9:07:34 PM PST by SmithL
CARACAS -- A congressional delegation led by Rep. Henry Hyde arrived on Monday in Venezuela, but was not permitted to leave the plane at the country's main airport and left abruptly, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy said.
The president of the airport, however, denied the accusation, saying the U.S. ambassador met the plane at the airport, entered it briefly, and then the craft departed.
The delegation on the plane had been slated to meet with Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and other government officials, and waited for roughly one hour before departing, Brian Penn, the embassy spokesman, told local Globovision television.
"Government officials did not allow them off the plane, and that's the cause of the canceled visit," Penn said without elaborating.
The group of six U.S. lawmakers led by Hyde, an Illinois Republican who chairs the House International Relations Committee, was harassed by customs officials for two hours before refused entry to Venezuela, according to Hyde's office.
"The delegation members expressed their profound disappointment in the Venezuelan government's capricious and unexplained decision,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I sure hope so. He's really pushing it.
Bump for later
That tells me his supporters are wavering and he needs to do something to hold them.
Incident with Congressmen at an airport? Isn't this how Jonestown in next door Guyana got started?
Chavez is beginning to look like old Pineapple Face. As I recall, things didn't work out so well for him...
Not only that, General Noriega has been lonely in his cell lately and has asked for a cellmate. Top bunk of course.
They let Noriega play the part of "Keo" (half human, half pineapple) on the cartoon series "Yakkity Yak". That's Noriega in the middle. :-)
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