CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency of spying on the South American country.
Chavez said that the DEA was using its cover as drug trafficking investigators to "carry out intelligence" of the president and Venezuelan government, El Universal newspaper reported Monday.
He said the country would sever ties with the DEA completely.
Relations between the United States and Venezuelan have been tense in recent years. The leftist Venezuelan leader maintains that Washington is intent on forcing his removal from office by supporting opposition political groups and promoting instability.
Chavez also accused the United States of playing a role in the April 2002 coup that deposed him briefly. The White House denies being involved in any plot overthrow the president.
The Bush administration has however accused Chavez of trying to create a Cuba-style communist regime in Venezuela and of supporting leftist insurgencies in neighboring Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America.
