'Chavez was killed by historical enemies of our homeland': Extraordinary claim by Venezuela's vice-president as he kicks out two U.S. diplomats

By ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 22:35 GMT, 5 March 2013 | UPDATED: 00:19 GMT, 6 March 2013

Venezuela's vice president announced on Tuesday that two U.S. Embassy officials were expelled for allegedly spying on Venezuela's military, as he accused the U.S. of infecting the country's leader with cancer. 

U.S. Embassy's Air Force attache, Col. David Delmonaco, and assistant air attache, Maj. Devlin Kostal, were named as the officials being kicked out of the country. 

The allegations against the American officials were made during a speech by Venezuelan Vice President Madurs, during which he accused 'the historical enemies of our homeland' of infecting the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with cancer.

The U.S. government confirmed that the two officials named were employed at the embassy. Col. Delmonaco was en route back to the U.S. and Major Kostal was in the U.S. at the time of the announcement and will not be returning to Venezuela. 

In Washington, Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman, said, 'We are aware of the allegations made by Venezuelan Vice President Maduro over state-run television in Caracas, and can confirm that our Air Attache ... is en route back to the United States.'

The Venezuelan government has accused the two men of spying on Venezuela's military.

A State Department spokesman denied the allegations made against the officers, according to the Army Times.

'Notwithstanding the significant differences between our governments, we continue to believe it important to seek a functional and more productive relationship with Venezuela based on issues of mutual interest,' said Patrick Ventrell, in a statement. 

'This fallacious assertion of inappropriate U.S. action leads us to conclude that, unfortunately, the current Venezuelan government is not interested in an improved relationship.

'An assertion that the United States was somehow involved in causing President [Hugo] Chavez’s illness is absurd, and we definitively reject it.'

U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal that in retaliation to Venezuela's move, several Venezuelan diplomats would likely be asked to leave the U.S.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288731/Chavez-killed-histo...