Western Hemisphere
Hugo Chávez's government has not formally withdrawn agrément to accept Larry Palmer, the United States' ambassador designate to Venezuela, the US Department said.

"We continue our conversation with Venezuela, and we believe that Larry Palmer, if confirmed by the Senate, will in fact be an effective ambassador and an effective interlocutor between our government and Venezuela," said on Monday Philip Crowley, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in its daily press briefing, AP reported.

Caracas accepted the appointment of Larry Palmer before the White House formally nominated him and forwarded the appointment to the Senate for ratification. Crowley said that Venezuela has not yet withdrawn agrément.

Last August 8, President Chávez said that it was "impossible" to endorse Palmer as US ambassador to Venezuela. He urged his US counterpart Barack Obama to "look for another candidate" to head the US diplomatic mission in Caracas. "He is just a nominee to the post of ambassador and you have heard what he said. How can we accept him to come (to Venezuela)?" Chávez said.

Responding to a questionnaire from the Committee on Foreign Relations, US Senate, Palmer said he was concerned about "Cuba's influence within the Venezuelan military. He claimed that that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) "maintain camps" in Venezuela. The US Senate will deal with Palmer's nomination when Congress resumes activities as of September 7.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas