Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that the United States would fail in its attempts to turn Latin America against his country.

Chavez made the remarks on Alo Presidente, his weekly show on local television and radio, in response to recent declarations by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Last Thursday, Rice described Venezuela as one of Washington's biggest problems in the Americas, saying the country's close ties with Cuba was particularly dangerous for hemispheric stability.

She also said she would ask for international help to counter the threat posed by Chavez to the region's democracies.

Responding to Rice's allegations, Chavez said the United States was angry because the Venezuelan leadership was developing the country's petrol and natural gas resources with Latin American allies rather than with U.S. corporations.

"We are breaking the chains of imperialism," he said.

U.S.-Venezuelan relations hit a new low earlier this month after the Venezuelan authorities accused a U.S. naval attache at the embassy in Caracas of spying and expelled him from the country. Washington responded by expelling a Venezuelan diplomat.

Source: Xinhua