Was To Meet With Country's VP, Other Officials

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have cooled several more degrees, as a US congressional delegation scheduled to meet with Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and other government officials Monday was not permitted to leave their aircraft after in landed in Caracas. After waiting for approximately one hour, the airplane left, according to a US embassy spokesman.

"Government officials did not allow them off the plane, and that's the cause of the canceled visit," spokesman Brian Penn told Venezuela's Globovision television station.

The group of six lawmakers, led by House International Relations Committee Henry Hyde (R-IL), was met by Venezuelan customs officials when they touched down in Caracas. According to Hyde's office, the officials denied the delegation entry into Venezuela.

"The delegation members expressed their profound disappointment in the Venezuelan government's capricious and unexplained decision," the office said in a statement, as reported by the Associated Press.

The president of the airport denied the US accusation, however, saying the aircraft

Airport president Jose Cabello denied the accusations, however, saying the delegation left the airport shortly after US Ambassador William Brownfield entered the airplane briefly as it sat on the tarmac, then left in an embassy vehicle. The airplane left shortly afterward.

"They didn't contact Venezuelan authorities" at the airport, Cabello told state-run Globovision. "We understand they went to Aruba. There was no problem."

Neither Venezuelan officials, nor the US Embassy, were able to elaborate further on the incident, according to the AP.

The incident comes as diplomatic ties between the US and Venezuela remain strained, as President Hugo Chavez (above) -- a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro -- has accused the US of a return to Manifest Destiny ideals in its relationship with Latin America.

The United States, in turn, has expressed doubt over the Chavez administration's commitment to a democratic government in the oil-rich South American nation -- which remains an important fuel supplier for the US.

FMI: www.house.gov/international_relations/