Despite smiles, US empire is still ‘alive’

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that despite his warm, smiling greetings with US President Barack Obama at the Americas summit, the US empire is still “alive and kicking.”

At the gathering of regional leaders last weekend in Trinidad and Tobago, one of the biggest stories was the friendly handshake between fierce US critic Chavez and Obama.

“The hand, yes. The smile, yes. But make no mistake, the empire is still there, alive and kicking,” Chavez said at a public event here.

“I hope that, for the good of his race, Obama is the last imperialist president of the United States.”

Chavez said the book he gave Obama — “The Open Veins of Latin America,” about the region’s colonial past and exploitation by the world’s big powers — was in response to what Obama said in Trinidad; that he came to talk about the future, not the past.

At the summit, Chavez — who maintained tense relations with the United States during the tenure of Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush — gave the impression he was seeking reconciliation with Washington, while Obama said he was open to talks with Cuba.

-AFP