Venezuela's Chavez Condemns Imperialism, Defends Syrian Regime

October 10, 2012 from Voice of America

In Hugo Chavez's first news conference since his re-election, the Venezuelan president reiterated many of his previous criticisms of the US, while defending the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad. If this typically charasmatic performance is any indication, it seems likely that relations between Venezuela and the United States are likely to remain strained for the foreseeable future. VOA's Brian Padden report.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the Un... Explore this topic

US-Venezuela relations

United States–Venezuela relations have traditionally been characterized by an important trade and investment relationship and cooperation in combating the production and transit of illegal drugs. Relations were strong under conservative neoliberal governments in Venezuela like... Explore this topic

Venezuelan presidential election, 2012

The Venezuelan presidential election of 2012 was held on 7 October 2012 to choose a president for the six-year term beginning February 2013. After the approval of the Ammandment No. 1 of the Constitution of Venezuela in 2009, which abolished term limits; incumbent Hugo Chávez,... Explore this topic

Venezuela

Venezuela, officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

President of Venezuela

The President of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela) is both the head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The current presidential term is for six years with the constitutionally guaranteed recourse of holding a popular recall referendum anytime within the l... Explore this topic

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Politics of Venezuela

The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela. Venezuela has a multi-party system, with numerous parties. The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) was created in 2007, uniting a numbe... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

News conference

A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides. Explore this topic

Also See

Hugo Chávez

US-Venezuela relations

Venezuelan presidential election, 2012

Watch Next

1:38

Raw Video: Obama, Turkey's Erdogan Say Assad Must Go

The Wall Street Journal | May 16

President Obama, speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says that Turkey and the U.S. agree that Sy...