Mexico says it no longer wants war of words with Venezuela

Mexican President Vicente Fox's office said Tuesday Mexico did not want to continue a war of words with Venezuela that had led to withdrawals of ambassadors.

"We hope that in coming weeks and months, relations cool off so that we can re-establish them to their highest level," said Ruben Aguilar, Fox's spokesman, to reporters.

"For us, the case is now closed," he added.

Mexico's ambassador to Venezuela was called back Tuesday while earlier the same day, his Venezuelan counterpart went back home.

The withdrawals of ambassadors came amid angry verbal exchanges between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Fox.

The quarrel began at the Summit of the Americas earlier this month in Argentina when Fox backed a plan for a regional free trade pact supported by the United States, but Chavez loudly denied the proposal.

Chavez called Fox a "sell-out" and a "lapdog" of the United States. Fox's office later demanded an apology for the claim and threatened to pull back its ambassador.

On Sunday, the quarrel was added fuel when Chavez warned his Mexican counterpart in a broadcast: "Don't mess with me, sir, because you'll get hurt."

The Mexican authorities claimed on Monday, hours after the ambassadors were called back, that Venezuela has become a major new transit point for heroin trafficking

Mexico's anti-drug officials added that of 20 shipments of heroin seized at Mexico's airports over the past two years, 17 came from Venezuela.

Fox's office said on Tuesday it would not respond to further comments by Chavez and would leave negotiations to re-establish diplomatic ties between the two countries.

But Fox insisted Mexico was right to have demanded an apology. "We have dignity in this country," he said in an interview with CNN on Monday.

Source: Xinhua