Venezuelan-US relations are going through "very difficult times," said US Ambassador Patrick Duddy.

The chief of mission claimed to have no news about the remarks made by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro at the general meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS), where he called US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte a "little criminal."

However, he noted that Negroponte is a professional with a long experience and many significant achievements in the US diplomacy. He stressed also the work carried out by his country to unite the hemisphere.

The ambassador attended a ceremony to disclose the successes of program "Baseball and Friendship" as part of the antinarcotics efforts.