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Napisano: 14 Jan 2012 12:40
US Moves To Expel Venezuelan Diplomat Linked To Cyber Plot
CARACAS (Dow Jones)--U.S. authorities have moved to expel Venezuela's consul general in Miami amid an investigation into a news report that linked the diplomat to an alleged plot reportedly hatched along with Iran and Cuba to launch a cyber attack against the U.S. government
In a statement released Sunday, a state department official said the Venezuelan diplomat, Livia Acosta Noguera, had been declared a persona non grata and would have to leave the U.S. by Jan. 10. The official declined to offer details behind the decision but added that the Venezuelan embassy had been informed of the move Friday.
Venezuelan officials were not immediately available for comment Sunday.
In December, the state department confirmed an investigation had been opened into allegations raised by a documentary called "The Iranian Threat" aired by the U.S.-based TV network Univision. The Spanish-language channel reported that in 2008 Acosta was among a group of Venezuelan, Iranian and Cuban diplomats, then based in Mexico, who explored plans to attack the computer systems of the White House, the FBI, the CIA and several nuclear power plants.
Iran's former ambassador to Mexico, Mohammad Hassan Ghadir appeared in the documentary and denied the accusations.
The announcement of the expulsion of Acosta comes on the same day Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a close ally of Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, is scheduled to visit Caracas during his first stop of a four country tour of Latin America. The Iranian leader will visit Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador, nations with left-leaning governments opposed to U.S. influence in the region.
Obama administration officials and U.S. diplomats say Iran is not a serious rival to U.S. in the hemisphere, but that the White House is closely monitoring for signs that Tehran may seek use Latin America to stage terror attacks.
In October, U.S. authorities accused Iranian officials of seeking to enlist a Mexican hit man to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., charges Tehran called baseless and lies.
Venezuela's Chavez, Washington's loudest critic in the region, has strengthened ties with Iran in recent years.
In Venezuela, Iran estimates it has entered 70 joint venture deals valued at up to $17 billion, including a factory to assemble cars and tractors under the brand name "Veniran."
Last year, Venezuela's state oil monopoly, commonly known as PDVSA, was one of seven energy firms sanctioned by the U.S. State Department for providing gasoline and other refined petroleum products to Iran in violation of the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act. The act was put in place to pressure Iran to drop its nuclear program.
The sanctions did not affect the nearly 1.2 million barrels of oil Venezuela sends to the U.S. daily. Venezuela is one of the top five suppliers of oil to the U.S.
Venezuelan officials blasted the U.S. government's sanctions on PDVSA, calling the move an "imperialist" act and a "violation of the country's sovereignty," but stopped short of denying allegations that the South American country sent petroleum products to Iran in violation of the international accord.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have ratchet up in recent weeks amid tightening sanctions against Tehran by the West.
In the past two weeks, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil trade exits the Persian Gulf, and to ban a U.S. aircraft carrier from the strait. U.S. officials have responded with implicit threats of force.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120108-703455.html
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joke about 'big atomic bomb'
Both leaders dismiss U.S. concerns about Iran's growing ties with Latin America
Venezuelan presidency via EPA
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, left, greets Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Monday.
msnbc.com news services
updated 1/10/2012 5:33:37 AM ET
CARACAS, Venezuela — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez lavished praise on each other on Monday, mocked U.S. disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.
The fiery anti-U.S. ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric.
Both leaders dismissed U.S. concerns about Iran's intentions in the Middle East and its growing diplomatic links with Chavez and his allies in Latin America.
US expels Venezuela diplomat over cyber-attack claims
"They accuse us of being warmongers," Chavez said during a joint press conference. "They're the threat."
As he often does, the theatrical and provocative Chavez stuck his finger right into the global political sore spot, joking that a bomb was ready under a grassy knoll in front of his Miraflores palace steps.
"That hill will open up and a big atomic bomb will come out," he said, the two men laughing together.
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NYT: Iran trumpets nuclear ability at second location
Chavez accused the U.S. and its European allies of demonizing Iran and using false claims about the nuclear issue "like they used the excuse of weapons of mass destruction to do what they did in Iraq."
'Yankee imperialism'
Washington and other governments believe Iran is using the nuclear program to develop atomic weapons. Chavez and his allies back Iran in arguing the program is purely for peaceful purposes.
"One of the targets that Yankee imperialism has in its sights is Iran, which is why we are showing our solidarity," Chavez said. "When we meet, the devils go crazy," he added. mocking U.S. warnings that Latin American nations should not help the Islamic republic.
The Iranian leader is using the visit to tout relationships with some of his close friends shortly after the U.S. imposed tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
As well as Venezuela, Ahmadinejad plans to visit Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador — a tour that Washington has said shows its "desperation" for friends.
Iran sentences US man to death for spying
Those nations' governments share Chavez's broad global views, but do not have Venezuela's economic clout and are unable to offer Iran any significant assistance.
Ahmadinejad dismissed the accusations about Iran's nuclear program in general terms.
Video: War of words with Iran escalates (on this page)
"They say we're making (a) bomb," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter. "Fortunately, the majority of Latin American countries are alert. Everyone knows that those words ... are a joke. It's something to laugh at."
"It's clear they're afraid of our development," Ahmadinejad said.
"President Chavez is the champion in the war on imperialism," he added.
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Rising tensions
Regional economic powerhouse Brazil, which gave the Iranian leader a warm welcome when he visited during the previous government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was notably absent from his agenda this time.
Ahmadinejad, who is subordinate to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign policy and other matters, has said little about the rising tensions with the West, including the sentencing to death of an Iranian-American man for spying for the CIA. The United States denies that the man is a spy.
Video: Iran sentences American to death (on this page)
"The only bombs we're preparing are bombs against poverty, hunger and misery," added Chavez, saying Iranian constructors have built 14,000 new homes in Venezuela recently.
Ahead of hosting Ahmadinejad, Ecuador's government also offered moral support, pledging to ignore Western sanctions.
"We say with clarity that we do not accept those sanctions," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters.
"We are a sovereign nation, we don't have dads punishing us and putting us in the corner for behaving badly. They (the U.S.) should instead be sanctioning the U.S. companies doing massive business in Tehran like Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45938366/ns/world_news-americas/#.TwxMF28V2rk
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