CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The Rev Jesse Jackson offered support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez yesterday, saying a recent call for his assassination was a criminal act and the United States and Venezuela should work out their differences through diplomacy.

The US civil rights leader condemned last week's suggestion by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that American agents should kill leftist Chavez, calling the conservative commentator's statements "immoral" and "illegal".

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (left) speaks with Rev Jesse Jackson during Chavez's radio show Hello President at a military hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday.

Jackson urged US authorities to take action, and said the US government must choose "diplomacy over any threats of sabotage or isolation or assassination".

"We must choose a civilised policy of rational conversation," he told reporters at a news conference.

Chavez, a self-styled "revolutionary", has repeatedly accused US President George W Bush's government of planning to overthrow him. He warned on Friday that some American leaders have considered killing him.

US officials have repeatedly denied such claims.
Robertson's comments last week have increased already tense relations between Caracas and Washington. He called for Chavez's assassination on his TV show The 700 Club, saying the United States should "take him out" because the Venezuelan leader poses a danger to the region.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a supporter of Bush's re-election bid, later issued an apology.
The US Federal Communications Commission "must prohibit such threats on the airwaves", said Jackson, who arrived Saturday in Caracas for a visit along with members of his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
"I hope the FCC does not remain silent regarding what Robertson said," Jackson added.

Representatives of the US government have expressed concern that Chavez and his close ally, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, are fomenting instability in Latin America.

Chavez and Castro deny it, instead blaming the United States for consistently meddling in the affairs of Latin nations.
In a speech to Venezuela's National Assembly, Jackson said every country has a right to self-determination, and touched on subjects from poverty to Martin Luther King Jr's role in the civil rights struggle of American blacks.

"Though our histories are burdensome with pain and often bitter memories, we must have the strength to get ahead and not just get even," Jackson said to a rousing applause from Venezuelan lawmakers.
He met with Chavez and was expected to meet with Venezuelan opposition leaders who accused the president of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Chavez accuses his political foes, including business and labour groups, of trying to force him from office by any means possible.

Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has survived a 2002 coup, a 2003 strike and a recall referendum last year. He is up for re-election next year, and recent polls suggest he has a 70 per cent approval rating.

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