President Hugo Chavez said that Venezuela was not a threat to the United States, after Mitt Romney blasted President Barack Obama for downplaying the risk posed by the longtime US foe.
The Venezuelan leader also recounted a conversation he had with Obama when the two met in Trinidad and Tobago for the 2009 Summit of the Americas.
In an interview that aired Tuesday, Obama said while Chavez’s “destabilizing activity” was of concern, “my sense is that what Mr. Chavez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact on us.”
Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney immediately pounced on the remarks, which were given to Miami’s Spanish-language America TeVe broadcaster, branding Obama’s stance “stunning and shocking.”
Chavez is also up for re-election, in October.
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