Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called US sanctions against Latin American states visited by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "absurd", ITAR-TASS reports.
The sanctions amount US attempts to control Venezuela, Ecuador and Cuba, Chavez said in a television interview Venezolana de Television.
Spokeswoman of the US State Department Victoria Nuland announced possible sanctions against states visited by the Iranian president. Ahmadinejad made visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Cuba last week.
Chavez warned that they are free countries. The US Empire may end up as “a paper empire”, the Venezuelan leader said, quoting Mao Zedong. Chavez called Latin American states “Steel Tigers."
