CARACAS (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez on Thursday accused the Netherlands of planning “aggression” against Venezuela by allowing U.S. troops access to Dutch islands off the Caribbean coast of the OPEC nation.
“I am accusing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Yankee empire, of preparing aggression against Venezuela,” Chavez said at a meeting with leftist groups in Copenhagen, which was broadcast on Venezuelan state television.
Chavez, in the Danish capital to attend climate talks, is embroiled in a dispute with neighbor Colombia over a deal to give the United States more access to its military bases. The former soldier says Washington fears his socialist government and is surrounding Venezuela.
Chavez said the self-governing Dutch islands were located in Venezuelan territorial waters. The Dutch Embassy in Caracas was not immediately available for comment.
The United States has long had a military presence on the islands of Curacao and Aruba, with about 250 Air Force crew and ground staff involved in counternarcotics and surveillance operations over the Caribbean.
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