US questions Venezuelan arms build-up

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has questioned Venezuela's build-up of arms, saying the Latin American country faced no threat from the West.

"I can understand neighbours being concerned," Rumsfeld said, in response to questions about Venezuela's arms purchases, including some US$3 billion ($4.69 billion) in weapons from Russia.

Rumsfeld and General John Craddock, head of the Florida-based US Southern Command, said several nations had expressed concerns about what Venezuela, under the leadership of leftist President Hugo Chavez, was going to do with the weapons.

Chavez has accused the United States of planning to assassinate him but Rumsfeld said there were no plots against Venezuela.

"I don't know of anyone threatening Venezuela, certainly not anyone in this hemisphere," he told reporters after meeting with nearly all the hemisphere's defence ministers behind closed doors in Nicaragua.

Rumsfeld's comments were the latest in the war of words between Venezuela and the United States. The countries have been locked in confrontation for years but tensions have grown as Washington and Caracas spar over the role each plays in Latin America and globally.

Chavez drew international attention last month at the United Nations and called US President George W. Bush the devil.

Chavez has urged the formation of a regional military alliance to reduce US influence in Latin America, a call US defence officials say they hope does not gain traction.

- REUTERS