Venezuela Upset at Obama Calling Chavez's Policies "Authoritarian"

Venezuela's government strongly criticized U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday for characterizing President Hugo Chavez's policies as authoritarian.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called Obama's comments "outrageous" and said it "demands respect from the president of the United States and officials from his government for the dignity of the Venezuelan people, its institutions and especially for the figure of Commander Hugo Chavez."

Obama said in an interview with WLTV Univision 23 in Miami on Thursday when asked about his message for the Venezuelan people: "The most important thing is to remember that the future of Venezuela should be in the hands of the Venezuelan people. We've seen from Chavez in the past authoritarian policies, suppression of dissent."

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