UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says U.S. President George W. Bush is the "devil" and the "hegemonistic" United States, an imperialist empire.
Taking the podium at the annual general debate of the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, Chavez waved a copy of Noam Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival, The imperialist strategy of the United States," recommending it as an "excellent" book.
He said, "The hegemonistic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species."
The threat "is like a sword hanging over our head," Chavez said.
"The first people who should read this book are our own brothers and sisters in the United States because the threat is in their own house," the president said. "Yesterday (Tuesday) the devil came here."
Chavez pointed to the podium and added, "It smells of sulfur, still today," and made the sign of the cross.
"The devil came here as if he owned the world, truly as owner of the world. I think you should call a psychiatrist to analyze yesterday's statement," Chavez said. "As the spokesman of imperialism he came to share his nostrums to try to preserve the current pattern of exploitation, domination and pillage of peoples of the world."
Asked for reaction, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, said, "It's insulting."
He added, "We are not going to address that comic strip approach to international affairs ... the real issue is he (Chavez) knows he can exercise freedom of speech on that podium and ... could exercise it in Central Park too. How about giving the same freedom to the people of Venezuela?"
