Chavez Says Venezuelans Would Repel U.S.

Chavez says Venezuelans would repel U.S.

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Associated Press
Published June 26, 2005

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez told thousands of troops Friday that Venezuelans would defend the nation's social "revolution" with their lives if attacked by a foreign power such as the U.S.

Chavez spoke while hundreds of demonstrators protested several blocks from the Cuban Embassy in Caracas, burning an effigy of Fidel Castro and saying they rejected Cuba's growing influence in the Venezuelan government. The demonstration eventually broke up peacefully.

Chavez has regularly accused the U.S. government of trying to oust him, including in a short 2002 coup. American officials have denied such claims as ridiculous.

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