Posted on 10/12/2005 4:24:56 PM PDT by Liberty1970
Chavez kicks out US evangelists for 'spying'
By Patrick Markey 1 hour, 1 minute ago
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered U.S. New Tribes evangelical missions working with indigenous groups to leave the country after accusing them of "imperialist infiltration" and spying.
Chavez, an ex-soldier who says his socialist revolution counters U.S. influence, briefly suspended foreign missionary permits in August after U.S. evangelist preacher Pat Robertson called on Washington to assassinate the left-wing leader.
"I have given the order, the New Tribes, the so-called New Tribes, are going to leave Venezuela. This is real imperialist penetration, it makes me ashamed," Chavez said, wearing a green military uniform and red army beret.
"It's real imperialist infiltration, the CIA, they are taking sensitive and strategic information," he said. "We don't want to abuse them, but simply give them a date to pack up and leave from every corner of the country."
A former military paratrooper praised by supporters for championing the poor, Chavez was speaking at a ceremony in southwestern Apure State to hand over land titles, tractors and credits to help indigenous groups.
The Florida-based New Tribes Mission, a Christian evangelist group that trains and coordinates missions to preach in remote areas, has 160 assigned missionaries in Venezuela working with 12 indigenous groups, according to its Website.
No one answered the U.S. telephone number on the site.
The announcement came just days after Robertson, a leader of the Christian conservatives who have backed U.S. President George W. Bush, again attacked Chavez, accusing him of funding Osama Bin Laden and seeking atomic material from Iran.
Venezuela officials rejected the new accusations as "absurd" talk.
Chavez has often charged Washington with plotting his downfall or murder. U.S. officials dismiss that as wild, populist rhetoric, but say the Venezuelan leader works with his ally Cuban President Fidel Castro to erode regional democracy.
Frayed political ties and a constant barrage of angry rhetoric have not stopped Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, from selling most of its petroleum to the United States.
The deep political rift between Venezuela and the United States was underscored in August when Robertson called on U.S. officials to kill Chavez. He apologized, but not before sparking a media storm.
Soon after that outburst, the Venezuelan Justice Ministry suspended authorization of good office permits for foreign missionaries while the government investigated and tightened regulations on preachers living in Venezuela.
New Tribes works around the world, in the places furthest from the corridors of power. I think what is really going on here (apart from the maniac Chavez fulfilling his quota of nutty announcements for the week) is more along the lines of demonically inspired opposition to the good works of these men and women in saving souls. That freed souls in Christ make poor socialist slaves to humanism no doubt justifies his actions in his mind.
Pat Robertson should stick to religion and stay out of current foreign affairs. There is fallout from the things he says because the US media loves to make a big deal out of his stupid statements.
There's a scary article about this Chavez goomer in the latest issue of American Legion Magazine. If I could find a link to it, I'd post it.
chavez gets my vote for psychopathic paranoid dictator du jour.
Yeah, I'm beginning to think Chavez and Kim Jong Il were seperated at birth.
Smart move. Those indigenous tribes know all the classified stuff. They beam it up while dancing.
NTM people are very high integrity, high energy people. Chavez is not doing Venezuela any favors.
This is really sad. About 35 yrs. ago, I traveled all over the byways and backwaters of Venezuela and Columbia in the mountains where the indigenous people were the most separated from the rest of the society. The ONLY people who had any interest in helping these people were the Christian missionaries, many of whom came from here. I am positive that things have probably not changed all that much in that amount of time as far as these people are concerned. This is just another way for Chavez to cut people off from the US and probably has absolutely nothing to do with Pat Robertson. I totally agree with what Robertson said; I just wish he wouldn't have said it where Chavez could hear him.
Chavez already ran off the Jews, so his turn to persecuting the missionaries really isn't a surprise.
Hw must have been afraid of those exploding Bibles.
Pat Robertson was right. In the good old days this banty rooster Chavez would have been assassinated by the CIA ..... months ago.
Because the US purchases so much of its oil from Venezuela, Chavez is hardly a "foreign affair".
They should send him one of those exploding cigars.
Same with Dobson and his loose lips if he want to keep his conversation with Karl Rove private than quit taunting the left about he been asured of Meire.....
cute tagline. check out this one...not a cute, but makes use of a similar idea...
cute tagline. check out this one...not as cute, but makes use of a similar idea...
Lol...brilliant minds think alike:)
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