Mexico, Venezuela Recall Ambassadors After Dispute
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a “puppy” of President Bush and said: “Don’t mess with me, sir.” Mr. Fox shot back on Monday that “we have dignity in this country” and demanded an apology. Now the two nations are withdrawing their ambassadors.
The severing of diplomatic relations came after a week of verbal sparring that highlighted Latin America’s differences over free trade and relations with the United States. The conservative Mr. Fox tends to side with Washington on many issues, while Mr. Chavez, a socialist and populist, has been one of the hemisphere’s strongest critics of Mr. Bush.
Venezuela’s president has repeatedly accused Mr. Fox of being a “puppy” of American interests and of disrespecting him after the pair took opposing positions during this month’s Summit of the Americas.
On Sunday, Mr. Chavez used his weekly radio and TV show to warn Mr. Fox: “Don’t mess with me, sir, because you’ll get stung.” Mr. Fox retorted in an interview with CNN: “Other countries might accept (Mr. Chavez’s) wording and the way he attacks everybody and he attacks institutions. We are not willing to do that in Mexico.”
Venezuela called its ambassador home Monday rather than apologize for the remark, and Mexico responded by recalling its own envoy to Venezuela. Mr. Fox said his government was mulling its next move. “We can’t allow people to offend our country,” he told CNN en Espanol.
More: truthabouttrade.org
Venezuela kicks ball to Mexico in diplomatic spat
Venezuela said Wednesday Mexico should take the initiative to resolve a diplomatic standoff after both governments recalled their ambassadors in a dispute over U.S. regional free trade proposals.
Mexico Tuesday declared the case closed, but insisted on an apology after President Hugo Chavez called his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, a "lap dog" of U.S. imperialism and told him, "Don't mess with me, mister, or you'll get stung."
Those remarks were directed at Fox's support of U.S. free trade proposals and came after the Mexican leader criticized left-winger Chavez and Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner for
Mexico, Venezuela chiefs pull ambassadors
Mexico and Venezuela pulled their ambassadors from each other’s capitals Monday after the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez refused to apologize for his remarks belittling Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Chavez, a frequent critic of U.S. foreign policy, last week called Fox “the puppy” of the Bush administration. When the Mexican government announced it would expel the Venezuelan ambassador if the Chavez government did not apologize within 24 hours, Venezuela responded Monday by ordering its ambassador home.
Mexico then recalled its ambassador to Caracas, with Fox saying: “We cannot allow people to offend our country.”
The two countries fell
Venezuela, Mexico withdraw ambassadors over spat
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a “puppy” of President Bush and said: “Don’t mess with me, sir.” Fox shot back on Monday that “we have dignity in this country” and demanded an apology.
Now the two nations are withdrawing their ambassadors.
The severing of diplomatic relations came after a week of verbal sparring that highlighted Latin America’s differences over free trade and relations with the United States. The conservative Fox tends to side with Washington on many issues, while Chavez, a socialist and populist, has been one of the hemisphere’s
Chavez roils Mexico's presidential race
The presidents of Venezuela and Mexico trade barbs, and pull their ambassadors.
First, there was the name-calling: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called his Mexican counterpart an American "puppy dog" after President Vicente Fox defended a US plan for a free-trade zone last week.
Mr. Chávez led several other Latin American leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina in proclaiming the idea dead. Chávez taunted that Mr. Fox was "bleeding from his wound."
Then Mexico ordered the Venezuelan ambassador to pack his bags and prepare to be expelled unless Chávez apologized. Chávez refused. Instead, he warned:
Chacon urges Mexico to focus on its own anti-drug efforts
Mexican authorities should be focusing more on anti-drug efforts in their own territory than worrying about the amount of illegal drugs smuggled into Mexico from Venezuela, a top government official said. “If they were to finish off the large drug cartels, no drugs would be flowing into Mexico,” Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacón said Tuesday.
Last week, Mexican prosecutors announced heroin shipments entering Mexico from Venezuela had doubled in the last year, and suggested that corrupt Venezuelan airport workers may be letting the drugs through.
The amount of heroin seized by law
Mexico-Venezuela row: Readers' reaction
Mexico and Venezuela's presidents, Vicente Fox and Hugo Chavez, are locked in a row, which could have serious consequences for relations between the two nations.
Mr Fox has threatened to cut off all diplomatic ties with Venezuela if Mr Chavez continues making controversial comments about him or his country.
Mr Chavez has refused to apologise for calling the Mexican President a "puppy" of US imperialism.
The BBC News website spoke to readers from both countries to get their reaction to the dispute.
More: news.bbc.co.uk
Mexico's relations with Venezuela recovering: FM
Relations between Mexico and Venezuela are recovering after a row arising from a dispute over the US-promoted Free Trade Agreement in the Americas (FTAA), Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez told Mexican radio on Monday.
Derbez said the bilateral relations are going on the right track and things could soon return to normal.
"We have to manage this with prudence and firmness. We have to keep watching how this evolves and to look out for moments which will allow us to take the path toward normalization,"
Mexico-Vzla treaty takes effect despite spat
An extradition treaty between Mexico and Venezuela went into effect on Thursday,
a move the Mexican government said shows the relationship between the two nations is moving forward despite a diplomatic spat that saw both countries withdraw their ambassadors earlier this month.
The agreement, which provides for the extradition of citizens of both countries, was signed in 1998, formalized on Oct. 25 and went into effect Thursday.
“The entry into effect of this treaty shows the clear interest of Mexico and Venezuela to broaden their legal frameworks and, in the current context, demonstrates their willingness not only
Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro lay a trap for Mexico
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed it will recall its Ambassador from Venezuela and request that Venezuela’s Ambassador to Mexico return to Caracas immediately if “the government and people of Mexico” do not receive a formal apology from “the very highest levels” of the Venezuelan government before midnight on November 14. Since last week President Hugo Chavez has called Fox “a puppy of the empire,” and also threatened Fox personally. “Do not mess with me,” Chavez told the Mexican president on November 13 in a television broadcast that was beamed by
War of words between Mexico and Venezuela
A diplomatic fight between Mexico and Venezuela worsened yesterday.
Days after branding Mexican President Vicente Fox a "lapdog" of United States imperialism, his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez warned: "Don't mess with me, mister, because you'll get pricked."
Mexico's Foreign Ministry responded, saying it would withdraw its Ambassador to Venezuela unless it received a formal apology.
"The Venezuelan President's declarations hurt the dignity of the people and Government of Mexico," it said.
More: nzherald.co.nz
