CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Venezuela's vice president reacted angrily to comments by a U.S. televangelist, who called for President Hugo Chavez's assassination.
Jose Rangel accused Pat Robertson of making terrorist comments when he suggested the United States to kill Chavez.
Speaking on his Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club," the conservative Robertson claimed Chavez was trying to make Venezuela "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."
Citing Chavez's close ties with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's significant supply of oil, Robertson said the need for his elimination is justified.
"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator," he said. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that assassinating foreign leaders is illegal, the New York Times reported.
"Our department doesn't do that type of thing," he said. "Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time."
Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman called Robertson's comments "inappropriate."
