Obama: US for constructive relationship with Venezuela

Amid flaring of tension between the United States and Venezuela following the death of its President Hugo Chavez, United States President Barack Obama has said that America is interested in developing a ‘constructive’ relationship with the Venezuelan people.

"At this challenging time of President Hugo Chavez's passing, the United States reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government," Obama said in his statement.

"As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights," Obama said in his statement issued after the death of Chavez on Wednesday.

Meanwhile the US State Department has reacted furiously to the Venezuelan Government's allegations that the US is involved in conspiracy to destabilise their government or caused the illness of Chavez.

"We completely reject the Venezuelan government's claim that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to destabilise the Venezuelan government," the state department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said.

"We reject the specific allegations against members of our embassy. An assertion that the United States was somehow involved in causing President Chavez's illness is absurd, and we definitively reject it.

The United States has options of reciprocal action available to it under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," Ventrell added.

The state department statement came after Venezuela said it was expelling a US embassy official for plotting against the government after the country's vice president said Chavez's enemies poisoned him with the cancer he has battled for nearly two years.

The secretary general of the Organisation of American States José Miguel Insulza has also expressed his condolences to the government and people of the BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela on the occasion of the sad passing of President Hugo Chávez.

However, Congressman Mike Rogers, chairman of the Huse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence alleged that Chavez was a destabilising force in Latin America.

"Hugo Chavez was a destabilising force in Latin America, and an obstacle to progress in the region. I hope his death provides an opportunity for a new chapter in US-Venezuelan relations," he said.

Congressman, Ed Royce, chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, described his death as good riddance to a dictator. "Hugo Chavez was a tyrant who forced the people of Venezuela to live in fear. His death dents the alliance of anti-US leftist leaders in South America. Good riddance to this dictator," Royce said.

Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, hoped that will be a free and fair election now.

"Chavez ruled Venezuela with an iron hand and his passing has left a political void that we hope will be filled peacefully and through a constitutional and democratic process, grounded in the Venezuelan constitution and adhering to the Inter-American Democratic Charter," he said.

"With free and fair elections, Venezuela can begin to restore its once robust democracy and ensure respect for the human, political and civil rights of its people," Menendez added.