U.S. President George W. Bush accused on Wednesday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of supporting "terrorists" of Columbia while urging Congress to approve a free trade agreement with Colombia.
Addressing the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's legislative conference, Bush said "The president of Venezuela praised the terrorist leader as a good revolutionary and ordered his troops to the Colombian border."
"This is the latest step in a disturbing pattern of provocative behavior by the regime in Caracas. He has also called for FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) terrorists to be recognized as a legitimate army, senior regime officials have met with FARC leaders in Venezuela," said Bush.
The Bush administration rejected Chavez's call for the international community to remove the rebel FARC terror group label.
On the free trade pact with Colombia, Bush said his administration will work hard to get lawmakers to pass the agreement, saying if Congress fails to approve the agreement, it will embolden U.S. adversaries like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and send a signal to Latin America that the U.S. cannot be trusted to stand by its allies.
Legislators from the opposition Democrat Party in the United States opposed the free trade agreement because of Colombia's human rights record, which they call "questionable."
Source:Xinhua
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